Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite
by Ghost Archer
Summary: An armored man named Shade surfaces from the depths of the Shadow Realm and gathers the biggest villains from each timeline to eliminate the history of Duel Monsters itself! With the help of their friends and allies Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki, Yusei Fudo, Yuma Tsukumo, and Yuya Sakaki must team up to prevent the destruction of the game they love!
1. Prologue

***Knuckles and I meet with the monks, Mega Man, Fox, Silver and Ryu at the Xiaolin Temple with the Paralyzing Prism***

 **Fox: Hey Archer.**

 **Me: Hey guys. I see you got the Paralyzing Prism.**

 **Silver: Yeah, but it wasn't easy.**

 **Me: Say, I've got a question. Do any of you guys know about the Hoduku Mouse?**

 **Raimundo: Who hasn't? That Wu can solve any mistake its user made.**

 **Kimiko: Too bad it's in a pool of lava now, thanks to Spicer.**

 **Me: Actually, that's the reason why we're here. We've come to retrieve it from that pool of lava.**

 ***Everyone gasps at the idea***

 **Omi: Archer, are you inside your brain?!**

 **Silver: He means "out of your mind."**

 **Me: Yeah, the idea is crazy, but if we pull this off right, you'll have one more Shen Gong Wu in your collection.**

 **Master Fung: Normally, I would object to a plan that absurdly insane. However, this could be our opportunity to retrieve a Shen Gong Wu that has been lost months ago.**

 **Dojo: *his tail starts to shake wildly* And not a moment too soon. The Watesia Weathervane has just revealed itself. *opens scroll* The Watesia Weathervane can release sonar waves that can detect any other Shen Gong Wu within a two-mile radius. It can even detect Shen Gong Wu hidden underground.**

 **Knuckles: Then that's just what we need to recover the Hoduku Mouse. But we need some Wu in case Spicer shows his face.**

 **Dojo: I'll get the Wu you need from the vault.**

 ***Dojo heads to the vault while we wait for him.***

 ***Note: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or its five franchises***

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Prologue

The Shadow Realm, a place of eternal pain and suffering for those who have lost their souls in a Shadow Game. This realm has kept lost souls prisoner for 5000 years, and all caused by a popular card game known to the world as Duel Monsters.

What started out as a card game full of monsters and magic created for fun expanded into an empire where Duelists of all ages spent their lives, shaping their own futures around the cards they wield to this day; cities and schools were built, tournaments created champions and legends were born. Such legends were created not from the cards, but from the very Duelists who used those very cards to Duel for their homes, their friends, and with their hearts.

One such legend was the King of Games himself, Yugi Muto. His life had changed when he received a box containing a puzzle from his grandfather, Solomon Muto, after he returned from an expedition in Egypt. What the young boy didn't know until after solving the puzzle was that the puzzle itself contained the spirit of an unnamed Pharaoh from Ancient Egypt, during that time the game itself was played with real magic and monsters encased in stone tablets. When he solved the puzzle, his soul was bound to the nameless Pharaoh's soul and formed a powerful team, one that would be told for many years.

The legend began with his first Duel. And his opponent was none other than the egotistical Seto Kaiba, who cared more about his title as Champion, his company, KaibaCorp, and himself more than anything else in the world. After Kaiba met his first defeat against the virtually undefeatable Exodia, Yugi's name became widely known all around the world, expanding more so after defeating the game's sinister creator, Maximillion J. Pegasus, in the title match of the Duelist Kingdom Tournament as well as the relentless Yami Marik in a Shadow Game in the finals of the Battle City Tournament, with the help of the ever powerful Egyptian God cards. With the help and support he received from his friends and family, Yugi Muto and his spirit partner, Yami Yugi, had earned themselves the title King of Games, the greatest Duelist who has ever drawn his first card.

Another legend, around ten years after Yugi Muto's tale ended with a saddening farewell, was a young Duelist who had the rare ability to see and hear the spirits of Duel Monsters cards. Jaden Yuki, a Slifer Red student at the prestigious Duel Academy, began his tale with a chance encounter with a seemingly older Yugi Muto and a sole Duel Monster card. After barely making his way into the academy, Jaden proved himself to be one of the best Duelists to set foot on Duel Academy Island, though the same can't be said about his grades.

With the power of his Elemental HEROs cards at his disposal, Jaden defeated the forces of evil that also dared to set foot on the island, such as Kagemaru, the school's superintendent and leader of the Seven Shadow Riders, Sartorius, a fortune teller possessed by the Light of Destruction, and Yubel, a manipulative demonic Duel Spirit obsessed with having to accomplish her goal of fusing twelve separate dimensions into one unstoppable force. Despite having been backed into a corner on numerous occasions, with his friends by his side cheering him on, Jaden always followed through and won his way to become the second Duel Monsters legend.

The third Duel Monsters legend is one who would ride his way to a better, brighter future. Yusei Fudo, son of the late scientist Professor Fudo, dedicated himself to ensuring that his future shone as bright as the sun for the citizens of New Domino City through Turbo Dueling, a special method of Dueling performed on special motorcycles run on a special form of energy. Orphaned during an incident known as the Zero Reverse that separated New Domino City from Satellite, Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, and Crow Hogan all grew up in a foster home, oblivious to the fact that destiny had much more in store for these three.

After discovering that he was part of a special group of people known as the Signers, Yusei teamed up with Jack, Crow, Akiza Izinski, Leo, and Luna to defeat the dark forces of the Dark Signers, vassals of the demonic forces of the Earthbound Immortals, who wanted no more than the destruction of the entire world. Combined with the good forces of the legendary Crimson Dragon and the Signer Dragons, Yusei and his friends defeated the Dark Signers, led by the malevolent Roman Goodwin and restored peace to New Domino and the Satellite.

Despite having to grow up in a rough time and having known that his father was a part of the Ener-D project that caused the Zero Reverse, Yusei decided to use all of his power to protect New Domino City from another time of depression and hopelessness. Since then, Yusei kept his head up high, his deck ready at the draw, and the wheels of his prized Duel Runner leading him towards the future and made sure to never look back at the past ever again.

Further into that same future was the fourth Dueling legend known to the history of Duel Monsters. In the city of Heartland, where small Litterbots ran free and Augmented Reality Duels hit the world by storm, a young energetic Duelist lived to take anything life threw at him and turn it all into a challenge, despite him failing at the end. Yuma Tsukumo, son of adventurers Kazuma and Mira Tsukumo, was just a simple Duelist with poor skills when an Ante Duel with his school's bully, Shark, changed his life forever. After an encounter with a demonic door that released 99 Number cards all over the world, Yuma met Astral, an otherworldly, amnesiac entity who soon became his most steadfast friend and ally on their quest to collect the 100 Number cards and restore Astral's memories.

Of course, collecting the Numbers themselves was no cakewalk for Yuma and Astral, since they had to battle evil forces who wanted to see Astral and his home, the Astral World, destroyed by the very cards they intended to collect. With the help of Shark and the lone wolf Number Hunter, Kite Tenjo, Yuma and Astral faced off against the combined evils of Dr. Faker, who used the energy from Kite's younger brother, Hart, to destroy Astral World, Vetrix, the man who mutated into a younger age by the effects of Astral World's opposite, Barian World, and used his sons to get revenge against Dr. Faker, and Vector of the Seven Barian Emperors, who orchestrated Yuma's downfall with devastating results! Without the support from his friends, the guidance and the power of Zexal, Yuma would never have lived to high five the sky another day.

Even further into the future, we find the fifth and final Dueling legend known to Duel Monsters history. In the prosperous Paradise City, where ARC systems gave birth to the ever popular Action Duels, one energetic boy with a sense of humor was looking to give smiles to everyone in the world. Yuya Sakaki, son of Yusho and Yoko Sakaki, had a dream of becoming a Dueltainer like his father. At a young age, before his father vanished before a title duel, he told Yuya to laugh whenever he felt like crying and to respond to tough situations with a smile. His father's advice is often compared to a pendulum and the pendant he wears is capable of swinging like one.

It took one duel against the very opponent his father was meant to face three years ago to not only gain the confidence he needs to Duel his own way, but also discover a new method of Summoning during that same Duel: Pendulum Summoning. Though he did create the new method of summoning, he still has yet to master it. With that new Summon technique, his deck of Performapals, and the support from his friends, he drove back an invasion in his dimension from the Fusion Dimension, thus foiling the Academy's plan to unite the Four Dimensions into one destructive realm.

These five Duelists have lived to preserve the future of Duel Monsters and the wellbeing of their homes. Though they lost once or twice on several occasions, Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki, Yusei Fudo, Yuma Tsukumo, and Yuya Sakaki would keep to their feet and live on to Duel to their heart's content. But on this day, all of their lives would be changed once again by a newer, stronger threat; one that will not only endanger the game of Duel Monsters, but the entire timeline of Duel Monsters itself! Now, with the help of their friends, old rivals, and former enemies, the Five Legendary Duelists will take up their Duel Disks and stand side by side for the greatest battle they've yet to face!

Because on this very night, a large shadow slowly emerges from a deep part of the Shadow Realm. It took the form an arrow-shaped flagship that appears to be made out of futuristic metal and there are lights traveling down to the center like water traveling through pipes. The flagship's height was about as tall as the diameter of the planet Neptune and the top was composed of small domes made from dark purple glass forming a full arc circle positioned exactly from one another, one dome in the center was twice as large as the others.

Inside the large dome were six figures concealed by the shrouding shadows. One particular figure, in the form of a silhouette of an armored figure positioned in front of the other five sat on a type of throne. Deep, metallic breathing was heard from his face while the only sources of light were two stone torches with dark red flames burning. The silhouette and the other five figures stood idly by as they watched the tiled walls of the dome played Duels from each of the five timelines, all coinciding with the five heroic Duelists of all time, almost mimicking a room full of flat-screen TV monitors merged into the walls. He let out a low growl as the five Legendary Duelists uttered their most famous phrases one by one.

"It's time to Duel!"

"Get your game on!"

"Let's rev it up!"

"I'm feeling the flow!"

"It's time to swing into action!"

Having heard enough already, the man with the metallic breathing shut off the monitors, each one shutting out after another with a single blink. The armored man turned around as the room grew pitch black with the last of the monitors shutting off and walked towards the exit, making a clanking noise with each step. The remaining five figures stood aside as the armored man stepped outside and followed him shortly after. While the armored man walked down the chambers towards the control station, he uttered one phrase; a phrase in a voice so deep and metallic even the figures following him felt a chill in their nerves.

" **Farewell…Legendary Duelists.** "

* * *

 ***As we wait for Dojo to return with the Shen Gong Wu, we start to talk to one another***

 **Kimiko: So you really think Knuckles can help us find the Hoduku Mouse?**

 **Silver: Please, he's found shards of the Master Emerald whenever it shattered. A Shen Gong Wu is no different.**

 ***Dojo returns with the Shen Gong Wu we requested. I have the Thorn of Thunderbolt, Fox has the Moonstone Locust, Knuckles has the Mantis Flip Coin and Ryu has the Third Arm Sash. The monks have their signature Shen Gong Wu***

 **Ryu: Thank you, Dojo.**

 **Dojo: Anytime. Now then… *transforms* we have a Watesia Weathervane to find.**

 **Me: We'll be right there, Dojo. You readers are welcome to RRF. Archer out.**


	2. Duel Monsters Era

***We search the spider cave for what seemed like days. We regroup at the entrance***

 **Me: Any luck?**

 **Raimundo: Nothing on our end.**

 **Mega Man: I couldn't find anything.**

 **Fox: This is hopeless. We'll never find the Hoduku Mouse at this rate.**

 **Clay: Hold up. Where's Knuckles?**

 **Knuckles: *from a tunnel* Hey guys! I found it!**

 ***We meet with Knuckles, who's standing in front of a river of lava. We notice a glimmer of light among the magma***

 **Kimiko: Hey, I remember this lava river. This is where the Hoduku Mouse fell once those spiders came.**

 **Mega Man: *turns around* Speaking of spiders, we've got company.**

 ***The rest of us turn and see a small gathering of giant spiders***

 **Me: Get the Wu, Knuckles. The rest of us will handle these guys. *I hand him the Black Beetle***

 **Knuckles: Say no more. Black Beetle!**

 ***The Shen Gong Wu transforms into heatproof armor and envelops around Knuckles. He dives in the lava while we fight the spiders***

 ***Note: This chapter takes place some time after the Ceremonial Duel***

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 1: Duel Monsters Era

Domino City, the city where the popular game of Duel Monsters began to take the world by storm. Located in an unknown region of the world, this city was known to be the center of the most historic moments in Duel Monsters history. Domino City was also home to the two major companies that are connected to Duel Monsters: Industrial Illusions, headed by the CEO, founder, and creator of the famous card game, Maximillion J. Pegasus; and KaibaCorp, a large entertainment industry headed by CEO and professional Duelist, Seto Kaiba.

Industrial Illusions was a company that specializes in publishing the Duel Monsters cards and the Dungeon Dice Monsters game, the company's main office being located in the major city of San Francisco, California. KaibaCorp was recognized for designing their Duel Disks, a holographic invention that allowed Duelists far and wide to conjure up holographic images of Monsters, Spells, and Trap cards, all while strapped onto their wrists. During the game's early years, the Duel Disks were simply the second invention with holographic technology that had the ability to project every card played; the first being Duel Arenas.

Many worldwide tournaments were held here in Domino City, attracting the attention of many top-notch Duelists from every corner of the globe to compete in the tournament known to all as Battle City. Many of these Duelists have fought bravely and fiercely, but all have been unable to reach the top of the championship. All but one particular Duelist, who obtained the title "King of Games" and the Egyptian God Cards once all is done.

That Duelist went by the name Yugi Muto.

The King of Games himself made his name known all across Domino City after his victory against Seto Kaiba with the power of the invincible Exodia the Forbidden One. When Maximillion Pegasus stole the soul of his grandfather, Solomon Muto, and sealed it in a blank card using the power of the Millennium Eye, Yugi traveled to Duelist Kingdom Island where he fought alongside his best friend, Joey Wheeler, to rescue him. The entire journey would have been in vain if it hadn't been for the one who aided Yugi through it all: the spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh, who was sealed away in Yugi's Millennium Puzzle for 5,000 years. Using the combined powers of Yugi's heart and the Pharaoh's strong determination, they were able to defeat Pegasus in the tournament's title Duel and rescue Solomon.

Over a week after their victory in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, Yugi and the Pharaoh, nicknamed "Yami", sensed a new threat in Domino City. Marik, the tomb keeper of the Pharaoh, had held a long-lasting grudge against Yami for the pain and sorrow he endured protecting the tomb. It was only after he surfaced Seto Kaiba hosted the Battle City Tournament in an attempt to reclaim his title as champion, only to fail at that in the Semifinals. After Yugi and Yami defeated Marik and won the Battle City Tournament, his name was carried out all across the globe.

Yugi and Yami were victorious over the evil spirit of the Millennium Rod that controlled Marik, but their troubles were far from over. After the Battle City tournament, Duel Monsters have lately been coming to life and attacking innocents recklessly, despite the Duel System being shut down. Industrial Illusions was called in an attempt to gather help. That night, some thieves broke into the game shop Yugi and Solomon lived in and stole the Egyptian God cards. Their troubles got worse when Yugi and Yami faced Gurimo, a caped man who collects souls by defeating them in a Duel. He was the first of a select few to use The Seal of Orichalcos, a Field Spell that cannot be dispelled and prevented outside interference. Despite Gurimo using Obelisk the Tormentor against its former owner, Yami defeated him, but failed to recover the Egyptian God Cards. The God Cards themselves eventually arrive in the hands of Dartz, who plans on sacrificing their power to awaken the Great Leviathan, a creature who wreaked havoc on the earth 10,000 years ago.

The night after, as the world witnesses a gigantic eye in the sky, both Yugi and Yami awake in the depths of the Millennium Puzzle where they encounter Kuriboh, who urged them to follow it through a portal inside the Puzzle to the world of beasts. Once there, Dark Magician Girl greets them, tells the tale of the Great Leviathan, and convinced them to pull a sword from an ice statue. Once they did, they unlocked the power of one of the three Legendary Dragons, the Eye of Timaeus, who proceeds to destroy the eye in the sky hovering above the world of beasts as well as the real world.

Yugi and Yami were the greatest of partners, but their time fighting alongside each other wouldn't always last. During a duel against Rafael, one of Dartz's most trusted advisors, Yugi believed Rafael's claim that he and his friends were fighting for the wrong cause and that Rafael was a noble and dauntless hero out to save the world. Rafael also claimed that mankind was inherently evil and that the Orichalcos exposed the darkness within their souls. Rafael managed to give Yami the Seal of Orichalcos card via the Spell Exchange. Despite Yugi's pleas not to play the Seal, Yami was blinded by the desire to win no matter what and played the card anyway. Despite the card boosting his monsters' attack power, Yami was ultimately defeated by Rafael and his Guardian monsters. The Seal proceeded to encircle Yami, but Yugi, realizing that their two souls reside in one body, sacrifices his soul so that Yami will survive.

Though distraught over Yugi's sacrifice, Yami continued to fight his way to Dartz and with the help of Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos in their true form, defeated him and freed the souls of Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey. However, the battle is not yet won. Dartz has managed to resurrect the Great Leviathan by sacrificing his own soul. As the beast began to cause mass destruction, Yami, Kaiba, and Joey joined forces and fought the Great Leviathan, only for the creature to best their strongest monsters. Their last resort was to awaken the Egyptian Gods. Their combined power as well as the light of the souls that were trapped within the Orichalcos was enough to defeat the Great Leviathan and free the trapped souls. Though the beast was defeated, it would continue to exist within the evil minds of mankind.

And then, there was the Grand Championship. Since Yugi and his friends are stuck in America and to return home, they have to enter the Grand Championship, a tournament hosted by KaibaCorp hosted to rebuild the company's reputation due to the damage Dartz dealt to it. Hearing about the ultimate tournament, all sorts of powerful Duelists from across the globe enter to compete.

Among those Duelists, there is Rebecca Hawkins, the granddaughter of archaeologist Arthur Hawkins and Intercontinental Duel Monsters champion. She knows Yugi through her grandfather's friendship with his. At first, she hated Solomon because she believed he stole Arthur's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card from him, but after her duel with Yugi, which was played the very same way Solomon and Arthur dueled while they were trapped in a tomb that caved in, she formed a budding friendship, proven by the card he gave her: The Ties of Friendship.

Plus, there's Vivian Wong, the Asian Champion who is a big, obsessive fan of Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba and will do anything to win a date with the King of Games.

There's also Zigfried Von Schroeder and his younger brother, Leon. Zigfried is the CEO of Schroeder Corp, a company that rivals KaibaCorp as well as the European Duel Champion. He held a grudge against KaibaCorp because he believed he stole his plans for holographic Dueling technology. To get revenge against Kaiba, he and his brother enter the Grand Championship under false names. Though they reached the finals, Zigfried was exposed and disqualified. But he has a last ditch effort: a card he gave to his brother to use in the title duel against the King of Games, the Golden Castle of Stromberg. Of course, knowing that a card that powerful was illegal, he hacked into the KaibaCorp database and legalized it as well as rewriting its powers, making it not just invincible, but dangerous as well, for once Leon played the card, it released a computer virus so powerful, it can destroy every file in KaibaCorp's database if not stopped. But even the most powerful cards have their disadvantages. With each the turn, it forces the opponent to send half of their deck to the Graveyard. Yugi took advantage of this and once he reduced his deck to just one card, he was able to destroy the Golden Castle of Stromberg and win the duel with that last card. After the championship was over, Yugi and his friends returned home to Domino City.

After their return home, there was one final thing left: determine the past of the Pharaoh, and to do that, he and his friends must enter the world of the Pharaoh's memories. Once they entered, things got immediately hectic when Thief King Bakura, who was possessed by the evil spirit Yami Bakura, attacked the six priests who wield the Millennium Items. The Thief King intends to bring them to the Millennium Stone and obtain the Shadow Power of the malicious Zorc Necrophades. One of the priests, Mahad, intends to lure Bakura into a trap by directing him to a tomb he made to resemble the tomb of the previous Pharaoh, Aknamkanon. He was able to lure him in and face him one-on-one, but was ultimately defeated. As a last resort, he sacrificed his life and merged his life force with his creature, thus turning himself into the Dark Magician. Though Bakura was able to take the Millennium Ring from Mahad, the latter attacked him and destroyed the tomb. The Thief King was able to escape.

Seto, the priest who was the original owner of the Millennium Rod, had a plan to create a creature, or "Ka", that could best Bakura's Diabound, but Aknadin was against such a plan. Bakura decided to transfer the evil within him to Aknadin.

Yami found Bakura and was in pursuit of the Thief King using Slifer the Sky Dragon, but upon Slifer's defeat, he would have been finished if it weren't for the arrival of Yugi and his friends. They give Yami enough energy to call upon the Winged Dragon of Ra and was successful in destroying Diabound. But time suddenly reversed itself to the point that Yugi and his friends didn't arrive and help him summon Ra, giving Bakura the opportunity to steal the Millennium Puzzle.

During their search for strong and worthy Ka, Seto and Shada prevent an angry mob from assaulting a young and innocent woman. Shada sensed within her a very powerful Ka, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and seeing as how he knew her when they were children, Seto takes the woman, named Kisara, back to the palace.

Aknadin, while resting, had a flashback dating back 15 years which revealed that he was the creator of the Millennium Items, risking the lives of the village of Kul Elna and he was Aknamkanon's brother. Out of Zorc's corruption, Aknadin wished for his son Seto to usurp the Pharaoh and take the throne for himself. When he sensed the Blue-Eyes White Dragon within Kisara, he is eager to have Seto extract it from her, but his feeling towards the girl made him refuse.

While Yugi and his friends rely on the help of a bulbous man named Bobasa to find the Pharaoh, Yami manages to meet with a man named Hasan, who quickly leaves. He eventually reunites with his friends, but he leaves for Kul Elna alongside the High Priests and his childhood friend Mana.

The final confrontation between the Pharaoh and Bakura's Diabound, who has grown stronger thanks to the souls of the lost people of the village has begun. Yami retaliates by summoning Mahad, in his current form of the Dark Magician. Elsewhere, Shada attempts to destroy Diabound's tablet, only to be knocked unconscious by Aknadin. The High Priest's combined power were enough to destroy Diabound. After Aknadin arrives with Shada's Millennium Key, everyone suddenly freezes. Turns out the Thief King and Aknadin were just pawns. Bakura was the one in control of the Ultimate Game. He used Hourglass Tokens to reverse time earlier and more recently freeze time, giving Aknadin the chance to steal the Millennium Items and place them into the Millennium Stone, resulting in Zorc's partial resurrection. Aknadin reveals that he is Seto's father and his wish is for his son to become Pharaoh. Zorc then turns Aknadin into the Great Shadow Magus. Magus then attacked the Pharaoh, but Hasan was able to deflect it and destroy Bakura's token, causing time to move once more. Aknadin captures his son and teleports him to the palace. Yami Bakura soon revived the Thief King and Diabound and separated the Priests and the Pharaoh across the village. The Priests manages to reunite with the Pharaoh, but Karim sacrificed himself stop a monster among the many that attacked them. At the center of the ruined village, Bakura and Diabound sacrifice themselves to complete Zorc's revival. Zorc then launches an attack against the Pharaoh but Hasan takes the hit, costing him his life. The Pharaoh and the High Priests then retreat to the palace to find Seto.

Aknadin attempted to extract the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from Kisara, but Seto, with the courage he need to stand up to his father, refuses. Despite Seto's efforts, Kisara's spirit was sealed within the White Dragon. In a fit of blind rage, Seto battled and defeated his father, but not before his soul entered Seto and he controlled him to attack the Pharaoh. However, despite Yami being outmatched, Kisara's spirit in the form of the White Dragon entered Seto's mind and sent Aknadin into the Shadow Realm once and for all. The Pharaoh, Seto and Seto Kaiba, who had somehow entered the Memory World, make their way to where Zorc will attack.

Zorc begins attacking the city as the Pharaoh retaliates with the Egyptian Gods. But despite that, Zorc had survived and destroyed the three Gods. One by one, the Priests fell to the unrelenting power of Zorc. Even the power of Shimon's Exodia wasn't enough to defeat the Dark Priest.

While the battle raged on in Kul Elna, Bobasa led Yugi and his friends to the Valley of the Kings. With his knowledge of the traps, Yugi and his friends traversed through the traps safely, leaving just one final room to go through before reaching the Pharaoh's name, which was all they need to defeat Zorc. However, Yami Bakura's spirit fragment appeared and challenged Yugi to a duel. Over the course of the Duel, Bakura's strategy managed to reduce Yugi's Deck to one card, but what he didn't know was that the card was Gandora the Dragon of Destruction, which was able to give him victory. They arrive in the room that contained the Pharaoh's name, but weren't able to understand the hieroglyphics. But they were able to memorize the symbols.

Yugi and his friends then arrive and give the Pharaoh cover by summoning their Duel Monsters against Zorc, but they weren't strong enough to defeat him. When Zorc attempted to finish the job, Shadi appeared, possessing the motionless body of Hasan and takes the hit, destroying both. Suddenly, Téa came up with an idea. She tells them to visualize the hieroglyphics they saw onto the cartouche and have the Pharaoh read it out once it appears. Zorc attempts to stop them, but Kaiba appears and protects them with Ring of Defense. Once the name had appeared on the cartouche, The Pharaoh utters it with a loud yell: Atem. Once that name was uttered, he was able to summon the Creator of Light, who destroys Zorc with one attack, destroying Yami Bakura and restoring Atem's memories in the process. But there is still one final task that needs to be done.

With that, Yugi and Atem must face off in one final Duel to determine the Pharaoh's fate. Atem was able to summon all three Egyptian God cards, Yugi was able to destroy them with Magnet Force. Atem managed to summon Dark Magician as well as his disciple, Dark Magician Girl as a contingency plan, but even they didn't stand up to protect him and Atem was ultimately defeated. As soon as they say their goodbyes, Atem finally crosses over to the Spirit World, but even though his time with Yugi is over, their bond will never be broken.

This brings us to today. A young boy was in his bedroom, located on the second floor of his grandfather's game shop. His spiky black hair had a magenta border at the edges with long blonde crooked locks hanging at the front. His usual attire is composed of a blue jacket over a black sleeveless shirt, a buckled collar around his neck. This was the duelist who changed the world for the better: Yugi Muto. He was seen reading some type of magazine when he heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it, Grandpa." Yugi called out to his grandfather, Solomon. He puts down the magazine, comes over to the door and opens it. His face lights up when he notices who was there. It was his best friend since Duelist Kingdom: Joey Wheeler. His dirty blonde hair is sporadically arranged over his dark brown eyes. His attire is composed of a blue denim open jacket with a raised collar, a white shirt underneath, and blue jeans. He greets his friend with a grin. "Hey, Joey."

"Hey there, Yug." Joey greeted with his Brooklyn accent. Their first encounter wasn't a pleasant one. Before Duelist Kingdom, he and another of Yugi's friends, named Tristan Taylor, bullied him until Yugi saved them from a beating. They've been friends ever since. "How are things going?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, it's been over a month since the Pharaoh left. Sure he had to leave us, but I'm sure he's still in our hearts." Yugi thought aloud as Joey came in and Yugi closed the door.

"Come on, Yugi. It's not like you to worry." Joey told him.

"Really? Don't you remember when you were knocked unconscious thanks to Marik's onslaught with Ra?" Yugi asked him. Joey simply responds with a heavy sigh.

"Don't remind me. The Duel against that creep is one Duel I'll never forget for as long as I live." Joey answered.

* * *

(Flashback)

 _Joey was in a Shadow Game against Marik's dark half, known as Yami Marik, who was the spirit of the Millennium Rod. Joey has lost a high amount of energy due to the effects of the realm while Yami Marik has barely lost any. Joey's field contained one of his strongest monsters: Gilford the Lightning, a tan-skinned Warrior garbed in silver armor with gold highlights an orange cape. In his hands was a large claymore sword capable of containing strong lightning strikes (8/ 2800/1400)._ _Marik's field is bare of Monsters, Spells, and Traps. Joey has 1200 Life Points while Yami Marik has 1900, but since the Duel began, his energy is almost drained. Yami Marik has just used Monster Reborn to resurrect The Winged Dragon of Ra_ ( _10/ 0/0_). _Yami Yugi clarifies that Ra inherits the attack points of the three monsters that are sacrificed to summon it. He also notes that since Marik made no sacrifices, it has no attack points whatsoever. But that didn't stop the former tomb keeper from using its special ability._

" _Behold the true form of Ra!" Yami Marik called out as Ra transformed into a phoenix-like creature cloaked in golden flames._

" _What? Tell me what's going on cause where I'm from, giant flaming birds are not a good thing, so give it to me straight." Joey requested._

" _My winged dragon has taken the form of Egyptian God Phoenix. In this mode, Ra is unstoppable." Yami Marik explained. Kaiba claims that Ra will soon be his. Yami Marik commands Ra to obliterate Gilford after his Life Points decreased by 1000. The phoenix complies and blasts the field with a stream of fire, destroying Gilford and causing Joey great pain as it attacked. However, despite the attack obliterating his strongest monster and his energy almost running on empty, Joey was still standing. Yami Marik was surprised that he managed to survive such a relentless attack._

" _It can't be! No one can withstand the devastating fury of an Egyptian God monster! No one!" Yami Marik cried out in total surprise. Even Joey's friends, who were watching the Duel at the time, were surprised that he's standing after that. "No! You can't! You should be wiped out by now!" It was Joey's turn now. All he needed was a strong enough monster to win. He slowly drew his card, still worn out from the force of the attack._

"Gearfried the Iron Knight. He's got more than enough power to wipe Marik out." _Joey thought. "Alright, Marik. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!" He plays the card and an armored warrior with a steel blade for the right hand and a shield for the left appeared (4/ 1800/1600). He was about to call the attack, but just as his sister, Serenity came to the top of the tower, Joey collapsed from exhaustion and the warrior vanished._

(End Flashback)

* * *

"Of course, if it hadn't been for my will to rescue Mai, my mind would have been trapped in the Shadow Realm along with her." Joey noted.

"It's a good thing you pulled through just in time for me to beat Marik and free his good half and banish the evil half to the Shadow Realm once and for all." Yugi added.

"I hear you, Yug. I mean, though you still have the three Egyptian Gods, but the Millennium Items are sealed away, remember?" Joey questioned.

"Oh Yeah. If it hadn't been for Shadi, we'd be trapped in there with them." Yugi answered. Their thoughts were halted when another knock on the door is heard. Yugi answers the door and a postman was there with a type of package.

"I have a package for Yugi Muto." The postman notified.

"Yeah, that's me." Yugi told him as the King of Games accepted the package. The postman left with a smile as he pressed a button on a hidden earpiece once Yugi closed the door.

"I gave him the package, just as you requested, Mr. Kaiba, sir." The postman reported into the earpiece.

" _Excellent work, Roland. Report back to KaibaCorp and set the arena up."_ Seto Kaiba commanded from the other end of the earpiece.

"Yes, sir." The postman, identified as Kaiba's right-hand man Roland, complied and left on a motorcycle.

Back inside, Yugi and Joey contemplate on what kind of package it is. Joey is unsure what is inside, but Yugi is certain what could be.

"I wonder what's inside the package." Joey wondered.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Yugi told him as he opened the package. The contents inside were nothing but a cyan blue video tape with the letters "KC" on the label.

"Who would send me a videotape? 'KC.' I know that logo." Yugi noted, noticing the logo on the tape.

"I'll bet Kaiba's issuing another challenge to you. When will he learn?" Joey questioned Kaiba's intent on beating Yugi as the King of Games put the videotape in the VCR. Afterwards, a video of Seto Kaiba inside what appears to be a gigantic dome began to play.

" _Yugi Muto, you have bested me for the very last time. I will not stand for it! Not here, not now!"_ Seto Kaiba called out to Yugi. " _If you want to prove that you deserve to be the King of Games, come to the Kaiba Dome at noon for the duel to end all duels! I suggest you bring your friends so that they can witness your downfall."_ Kaiba ended his message with a laugh that made him feel like a king. The video ends after that.

"This is exactly what I don't like about Kaiba. He never gives up until he beats you and takes your title." Joey ranted. Yugi checks his clock and sees that it's 10:30. "What are you going to do?"

"If Kaiba wants a Duel, then he'll get one." Yugi told him. "Call Tristan and Téa. They'll want to hear this."

"Already on it." Joey complied as he left the game shop to get Tristan Taylor and Téa Gardner, two more of Yugi's friends.

* * *

(90 minutes later…)

Yugi and his friends stood in front of the Kaiba Dome, a large spherical dome resembling the head of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, though it hadn't come as a surprise to everyone who had seen it at least once. They all knew how much the building's exterior resembled Seto Kaiba's most favorite dragon.

"Well, here we are: the Kaiba Dome." Yugi told his friends.

"I can't believe Kaiba challenged you to a Duel, again." Tristan added, standing behind Yugi. His brown hair was arranged to form a single spike pointing up and outward. He wore a brown motorcycle jacket with its collar raised and a white T-shirt underneath, as well as black jeans.

"I hear you, Tristan. When will Kaiba learn that he'll never beat Yugi?" Téa asked. Her dark brown hair reached down to her shoulders. Her attire is composed of a yellow tube-top with black borders for the holes where the sleeves were, a black choker and a silver necklace around her neck. She also wore red shorts and a pair of white high-heeled boots.

"I had that same thought, Téa. Yugi beat Kaiba a bunch of times. This time won't be any different." Joey told them.

"I hope you're right, Joey." Yugi nodded as he entered the dome, his friends following shortly after. They see that the interior is as big as an American football stadium. Bleachers revolved around the gigantic field, a balcony strategically propped up and hidden above the bleachers. Four large flat-screen TV screens were installed on each of the four sides of the arena for any and all spectators to see and a large dome roof covered the building.

Yugi notices someone at the other end of the arena. That someone was his greatest and soon to be current opponent: Seto Kaiba. For most of his life, the brown-haired CEO of KaibaCorp wore a white sleeveless jacket with his company's logo on both sides of his collar. Black studs are seen around the raised shoulder pads. Under the jacket was a black long-sleeved shirt with two belts on each upper arm and two other similar pairs on each of his shins. Hanging from his neck is a Duel Monster card-shaped locket with one half of a photo of him and his brother Mokuba in their younger years. Yugi came into the field while Joey and the others sat down in the grandstands.

"Yugi, I had a feeling you'd accept my challenge." Kaiba noted and shifted his gaze to his friends. "And you've brought your friends so they can see you fall."

"What was that?" Joey questioned, feeling threatened. Tristan and Téa held him back by the arms.

"Careful, Joey. You wouldn't want to get involved before a Duel, would you?" Tristan asked him.

"But Tristan…" Joey began before Yugi interrupted him.

"Don't worry, Joey. I can take it from here." Yugi informed him. Joey let out a low growl and sat back down.

"I appreciate you for coming here, Yugi." Kaiba said. "However, though you did accept my challenge, I was hoping to challenge someone who eluded me for years." He then pulls out something very familiar to everyone. It was a gold inverted pyramid charm with the Eye of Wdjat marked on one of the sides. Yugi identified it right away.

"The Millennium Puzzle!" Yugi gasped.

"That's right. My scavengers found the pieces within the shrine. We were able to assemble it within hours, something you took eight years to accomplish." Kaiba noted.

"But how is that even possible?" Yugi questioned. Kaiba responds by tossing the Puzzle to Yugi.

"You're asking the CEO of a multi-million dollar gaming corporation. I have my ways, Yugi. So unless you want to back out now, I suggest you call him here." Kaiba requested. Yugi puts the Puzzle around his neck with uncertainty.

"Easier said than done, Kaiba, but if that's what you want, who am I to stop you?" Yugi told Kaiba. He then closed his eyes and soon formed a spiritual connection with the Pharaoh.

"Atem, can you hear me?" Yugi thought deep within his mind until he hears a familiar voice within him. Atem's ethereal spirit appeared within his mind. He appears to resemble Yugi, only taller and more stoic and a few locks of his blonde fringe jut upwards.

" _I can hear you well, Yugi. Why would you contact me within your mind?"_ Atem asked.

"It's Kaiba. He wants to challenge you." Yugi told him. "I already told him that you couldn't be seen ever again, but Kaiba disagrees."

" _Is that so?"_ Atem asked. Yugi replies with a slow nod. " _Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to pay him a visit. I mean, it has been over a month since he and I Dueled."_

"So you're actually going through with this, Atem?" Yugi asked, raising his right hand.

" _Correct, Yugi. And I'll be sure to give it my all."_ Atem replied as he raised his own hands and grasped Yugi's, causing a brilliant light to glow.

In the real world, Kaiba, Joey and the others waited for Atem to arrive. But just as they hoped that he wouldn't come, a bright light shone from the Millennium Puzzle. As soon as the light fades Yugi had transformed into the Pharaoh, who was then nicknamed Yami. He shared Yugi's looks and appearance, the only differences being his taller height, his more stoic personality and the way he wears the jacket like a cape. Yami then glanced at Kaiba.

"I had a feeling you'd show up, Pharaoh." Kaiba smirked.

"Alright, Kaiba, you want a Duel, you've got one!" Yami called Kaiba out.

"I've always wanted to hear those words." Kaiba said nonchalantly as he pressed one of the logos on his collar. "Mokuba, close the dome roof. I want to be sure no one other than Yugi's peanut gallery sees this duel go on."

" _You got it, big brother_." A voice complied from the other end of the collar. Joey, Tristan and Téa shifted their view to the dome's control tower where a boy was controlling the arena's holographic projections. He had black hair that extended down his back. His attire is comprised of a blue-and-teal long-sleeve shirt under a buttercream yellow jacket. Around his neck is a Duel Monster card-shaped necklace similar to Seto Kaiba's, only it contained the other half of the photo. " _Closing dome roof now."_ The others now looked up as the dome's roof closed off, making the room seemingly pitch black. The darkness in the stadium didn't last as the stadium lights went on.

"I hope you're ready to lose your title, Pharaoh." Kaiba told him.

"I was expecting you to say those words, Kaiba." Yami retorted. "But before we begin, how about we even the odds a little?"

"How?"

"Simple." Yami proceeded to pull out three cards from his deck, each one with a different color. A red card being Slifer the Sky Dragon, a blue one Obelisk the Tormentor, and a yellow one The Winged Dragon of Ra. "I have here the Three Egyptian Gods. For this duel, I shall beat you without having to use them." Kaiba responds with a near-maniacal laugh.

"Please. You managed to beat me in Battle City with just one Egyptian God card. How will you be able to beat me again without all three of them?" Kaiba questioned the handicap Atem put on himself.

"Because, Kaiba, I have defeated you without the Egyptian God cards before, I can do it again." Yami informed him as he placed the colored cards in his empty Deck Box. "Now, if you don't have any more objections, it's time to Duel!"

"Very well." Kaiba complied as their Duel Disks activated. Their blades jutted out, connected themselves to each other, and jutted back into the disk in the area just in front of the Graveyard. A yellow light illuminated around the red arrows and the borders of the Monster Zones. Both players drew five cards from their decks and looked at each other with a scorching rivalry in their eyes.

"The Pharaoh's going to duel without the Egyptian Gods? How is he supposed to win?" Téa asked.

"Trust me, Téa. If there's anything I know about Atem, it's this: he always has a plan to win." Joey told her.

"Well, whatever that plan is, I hope it works." Tristan added as both Duelists uttered two common starting words simultaneously, the mantra to the Duel Monsters match to end them all.

"LET'S DUEL!"

* * *

An unknown number of turns have passed since the Duel started, but it's currently Kaiba's turn. Both Yami and Kaiba are neck-and-neck, neither Duelist are willing to give up on their skills, even when backed into a corner. Kaiba's field contained two of Kaiba's most trusted monsters, one being a Dragon-Type called Kaiser Glider, a gold armored dragon with glowing red eyes (6/2400/2200); the other a Sea Serpent-Type called Kaiser Sea Horse, an aquatic creature garbed in purple and blue armor and armed with a gold spear and a shield (4/1700/1650).

On Atem's field was one of his signature Monsters, the Dark Magician Girl, a beautiful Spellcaster-Type Monster wearing a tall, pointy, blue-and-pink hat worn over her long blond hair and layers of blue armor with pink cloth that reached down and formed into a long skirt, complete with a blue scepter with a yellow spiral at the top (6/2000/1700). Behind her are three face-down Spell/Trap Cards, a contingency plan he kept on a rainy day. Joey, Tristan, Téa, and Mokuba watched on as Kaiba called his attack with his Dragon.

"Kaiser Glider! Attack The Pharaoh's Dark Magician Girl now!"

On Kaiba's command, a flame enveloped in Kaiser Glider's mouth. With it, the gold dragon fired its blast at Dark Magician Girl, which the Spellcaster courageously braced itself as the fireball approached it. But Atem was prepared for that.

"Not so fast, Kaiba!" Yami shouted. "I activate the Trap Mirror Force!" All of a sudden, a clear, transparent wall formed itself in front of Dark Magician Girl, blocking the Dragon's attack. After a few seconds, the fireball's energy began to reflect and bounce back to Kaiser Glider. "My reflective barrier redirects your attack to your monster and wipes out all Monsters in Attack Mode!"

"Better think again, Pharaoh!" Kaiba replied, revealing a Quick-Play Spell from his hand. "I activate the magic of Card Guard!" From the card's artwork, a blue-and-gold octagonal shield with four Duel Monster card-shaped sides and an eight-point gold star and a red jewel in the center appeared, blocking the deflected energy. "This card protects my Monsters from being destroyed by your trap. Of course, in order to use it, I have to get rid of one card in my hand." Kaiba discards a card in his hand.

Kaiba had planned to use Card Guard to protect his Monsters from the effects of Mirror Force. The attack continued and the Spellcaster exploded in a blast of pixels. Atem was in complete shock to see one of his trusted monsters destroyed as his Life Points dropped by 400.

"No! Dark Magician Girl!" Kaiba laughed at the sight of the Pharaoh's magician being destroyed.

"How does it feel to see one of your most favorite monsters be crushed by my hands?"

"Kaiba! This is exactly why you rely too much on power to win! You become blinded by what's truly important in this Duel!" Yami shouted as he looked over to his friends. "You see, Kaiba, Duels are not always about winning at all costs, they're about fighting with the support of your friends, even if they're very far away. So do what you want to me, Kaiba. No matter what you do, you will never defeat me as long as I have the strength of my friends and my Deck."

"Get real, Pharaoh! Don't you dare lecture me about believing in any friends and in my cards!" Kaiba snapped with a boiling anger. "All those pep talks and lectures about having faith in these so-called "Heart of the Cards" began as nothing but a stupid fairy tale that was only meant to put little kids like you to sleep!" Kaiba then looked up towards Atem, his eyes bloodshot with pure rage as he continued to reprimand him.

"If you want the horrible truth, Pharaoh, here it is: I have no friends to rely on! All my life, there was only one person I've relied on in this harsh, unforgiving world and that's me and I'll always be the man I relied on to come out on top here! You of all people have no right to tell me to believe some lame hocus-pocus story your grandfather told you about! _There's no such thing as the Heart of the Cards!_ It's all a delusion made up by you and your old man because you drew a lucky card and that's all it will ever be!"

Everyone, including Mokuba, was shocked to see Kaiba this furious since his defeat in Battle City, especially when his greatest rival had told him to believe in a fantasy he never believed in at all. Mokuba, the most affected of them all, let out a tearful whisper. "Seto…"

Atem released a deep sigh. "You're wrong about being alone, Kaiba. There is one person who relied on you, even when life is at its hardest: Mokuba!" He informed him, pointing to the small form in the control tower. "He's been there for you since the very beginning and has been with you in spirit, even if you chose not to accept it. Know this, Kaiba: it was your bond with Mokuba that nearly helped you win that Duel against Pegasus, and even he was shocked to find that out since he has been reading your mind throughout Duelist Kingdom!"

"You may have lost that Duel, Kaiba, but there is something I learned from that. Your dedication to Mokuba is all the proof I need to know that you share a deep bond that allowed you to escape even the toughest of situations!" Mokuba, Joey, Tristan, and Téa were touched by Atem's words, especially Mokuba. He could never deny the fact that he and Kaiba had some moments that were rough, but throughout those years, Kaiba dedicated himself to helping his little brother whenever he is in trouble. Despite the CEO's failed attempts in trying to help him out of tight spots, Mokuba knew he was trying his hardest and it was all worth the effort.

"Are you finished?" Kaiba sneered. "Because if you are, I'd like to move this Duel along. If you really think you can get in my head with all that talk about friendship, you're dead wrong. Because the card in my hand is all I need to guarantee my victory on my next turn!"

"A card to ensure your victory? But what can…?" Atem questioned. And then, it hit him. "No! Don't tell me you're-!"

Kaiba cracked a malicious grin, followed by an ominous chuckle, which grew to a bursting laugh. "Oh, I am, Pharaoh! I'm about to summon the card that has been the biggest roadblock throughout your Dueling career! But first, I'll sacrifice my Kaiser Sea Horse in order to summon my most powerful monster! I take it you remember Kaiser Sea Horse's special ability, but just in case you memory is failing, I'll give you a refresher. Kaiser Sea Horse can count as two sacrifices for when I summon a high-Level Light Attribute Monster. And I already know which one!" Kaiba took one of the Monsters from his Monster Zone and sent it to the Graveyard, but in its place, he slapped down his best Monster. "Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Atem, his spectators, and Mokuba all gasped in shock as Kaiser Sea Horse disappeared from Kaiba's field. Once it did, a pillar of blinding light appeared behind Kaiba and a shadow formed of a lizard-like monster with wings. Emerging from the shining light was a draconic creature, covered from head to tail with white scales and blue eyes. Upon revealing itself, the dragon bellowed an earsplitting roar, one that literally shook the entirety of the Kaiba Dome. It was Seto Kaiba's most powerful monster, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/3000/2500). Kaiba laughed in maniacal delight once his greatest monster surfaced.

"What do you think, Pharaoh? Is this creature magnificent or what?"

"It is magnificent, alright. Just as it will be once I destroy it with my own hands!" Atem told him with a confident look in his gaze.

"I beg to differ. You'll most likely use those cards to stop my dragons from obliterating you and taking the victory." Kaiba retorted. "Well, I have something that can solve that. I activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!"

"Not that card!" Joey cried out in shock.

"That'll wipe out the Pharaoh's face-downs!" Tristan added.

Kaiba smirked as an invisible windstorm started to blow across the field. "This card destroys every Spell and Trap on the field as soon as I return a Level 5 or higher Dragon-Type Monster, like my Kaiser Glider, back to my hand!" Kaiser Glider began to glow with a bright green aura. "Once I call it back, you're defenseless!"

"Oh, no!" Atem cried.

"Oh yes, Pharaoh! Kaiser Glider, return to my hand!" Kaiba commanded. Then, on cue, Kaiser Glider disappeared and reappeared in Kaiba's hand. Once it did, the windstorm swept away Atem's Spell and Trap Cards, revealed to be Spellbinding Circle and Magical Hats.

"Pharaoh! Take a good look around you! You've got no cards on the field! No cards in your hand! And the only monster that can protect you has been destroyed!" Kaiba laughed with a menacing grin. "What are you going to do now?" Kaiba laughed, confident that his victory is near. But it was short lived when he heard Atem's answer.

"I'm going to win this Duel!"

"You've got to be joking! I've got my strongest monster and you've got nothing! How will you find the card you need to defeat me?"

"You'll see soon enough, Kaiba! It's my move!" Atem declared before looking to his deck. He began to think worriedly. " _If I don't draw the right card, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes will blast away the last of my Life Points! I've got one shot. It's all or nothing!"_

* * *

(Turn ?: Yami Yugi)

Yami slowly drew a card from his deck, eyes closed. He takes a look at the card and smiles. His sights shift to Kaiba as he noticed his opponent's look had changed to concern.

"Well, Kaiba, it looks like I've drawn the card I was looking for."

"You lie!" Kaiba retorted.

"Wrong! This card is going to be the beginning of your defeat, Seto Kaiba. I activate Card of Sanctity!" Atem played the card he drew right away. "This card allows us both to draw cards from our Decks until we both hold six cards in our hands!"

"Big deal. The outcome will be the same nonetheless." Kaiba sneered, drawing his four cards.

"I'm not done yet. I play Ancient Rules!" Atem announced as he played one of the six cards he drew. "This card lets me summon any high-level Normal Monster from my hand right away!"

"Please! What monster will you summon with that card?" Kaiba questioned. Then, it hit him. "No!"

"Now I summon Dark Magician!" Atem slapped his signature monster right on his Duel Disk. A small pillar of light appeared in front of Yugi and from that light was a silhouette. When the light faded, the silhouette revealed itself as the Dark Magician. The magician wore a suit much like Dark Magician Girl, only it was purple and covered the entire body, with a dark indigo cloth wrapped around his torso stretching down his garbed legs and long purple hair. In his hand was an emerald green pointed staff with a green crystal orb at the top (7/2500/2100).

Kaiba smirked when he saw the monster that was his biggest obstacle in his quest to defeat the Pharaoh. "Sorry to disappoint you, Pharaoh, but one magician isn't going to be enough to defeat my dragon!"

"For once, you're right, Kaiba. My Dark Magician isn't enough." Atem informed him when he took another card in his hand and played it. "But I have a card that can solve that. I play Bond Between Teacher and Student!"

"Aw yeah! Now the Pharaoh can bring back his Dark Magician Girl!" Tristan cheered.

"Hey Pharaoh! Floor this creep for us!" Joey cheered.

"With Dark Magician at the ready, I can call out his greatest pupil, Dark Magician Girl!" Yugi announced as Dark Magician Girl reappeared beside Dark Magician in a kneeling stance.

"Wow! The Blue-Eyes White Dragon! It's as strong as I remember." Dark Magician Girl spoke with a mix of fear and determination.

"Not to worry, my apprentice. With our combined power, we can crush it." Dark Magician replied confidently.

(A/N: In case you're wondering why these two can talk to the Pharaoh, Dark Magician Girl once spoke to him and Yugi as a spirit and Mahad was transformed into Dark Magician upon his defeat)

Kaiba growled at the sight of Dark Magician Girl's reappearance, but kept his cool and cracked a wicked smile. "Nice try, Pharaoh, but like I said before, your monsters are too weak to destroy my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Yes, Kaiba. They may not be strong individually, but watch what happens when their powers are combined! Go, Dark Magic Twin Burst!" Yami played one last card. Kaiba's look quickly changed to complete horror.

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes, Kaiba!" Yami began as the two magicians crossed their staffs. "This card gives my Dark Magician the Attack Point boost equal to those of my Dark Magician Girl until the end of this turn." Dark purple energy surrounded the Dark Magician, increasing his power (7/2500-4500/2100)

"All right! Now Dark Magician can wipe out that Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Téa cheered with vigor.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried with worry.

"Kaiba! When you rely only on power, you lose sight of the importance of Dueling. It's over!" Yami shouted and his magicians rose to the air, ready to attack at the Pharaoh's command. "Go, Dark Magicians! Destroy his Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The two Spellcaster-Type Monsters drew their staffs back, allowing them to gather up a purple light. "You ready?" Dark Magician Girl asked her mentor.

"Indeed I am!" Dark Magician replied as the energy orb grew larger and brighter. "Here goes!"

"Now!"

"Twin Dark Magic Attack!" Both Spellcasters shouted as they fired a beam of purple and yellow energy at the white dragon.

Kaiba clenched his fist, a look of rage plastered on his face. "Pharaoh! I will not allow my Blue-Eyes White Dragon to go down! Not like this! Now, my mighty beast, attack with White Lightning!"

Acting on Kaiba's commands, a ball of white light formed in Blue-Eyes White Dragon's maw, blue static shocks beginning to crackle around the devastating blast. With one final roar, the Dragon shot the light out at both magicians, colliding with the beam, neither attack willing to give up.

All of a sudden, as the attacks pushed one another, there was a blinding flash of light that began to form and quickly expand around the dome. Everyone shielded their eyes from the growing light, the three monsters disappearing into that light. "What's happening?! Kaiba shouted. "KaibaCorp holograms can't do that, can they?!" The light continued to grow and once it made contact with Kaiba, the latter screamed in complete terror as the light swallowed him, his screams fading into an eerie echo.

"KAIBA!" Atem yelled as the light engulfed him as well, his screams of agony fading into nothing. All of the spectators watched in horror as both rival Duelists vanished into the light. Without warning, they called out their names as they were the first victims of the light's growing size.

"PHARAOH!"

"SETO!"

Once they did, the light swallowed them as well before they had the chance to escape from the unknown veil. The Kaiba Dome was eventually swallowed whole by the mysterious light and was spread across Domino City. But the Duelists and the spectators weren't the only ones affected by the veil of light. Everyone saw it and watched as people disappeared into the veil one after another. People screamed in fear and ran for safety, only to fail and be swallowed by the light, their screams fading into ghostly echoes. The veil of light soon covered the entire United States, then the entire continent, and then, every continent unfortunate enough to be in the light's wake. In mere moment's, the entirety of the world was quickly shrouded in light. Then the light vanished instantly. All of time and space had disappeared into the Shadow Realm.

* * *

 ***We defeated all of the spiders that got close. All of the others have fled***

 **Mega Man: Whew! That was tough.**

 **Me: I'll say. I sure hope Knuckles found the Hoduku Mouse while we were busy.**

 ***After a few seconds, Knuckles began to surface from the chasm. In his hands was the Hoduku Mouse. The armor detaches itself from Knuckles***

 **Knuckles: Sorry I took so long, but I finally found it.**

 **Raimundo: The Hoduku Mouse. Finally!**

 **Kimiko: Master Fung will be so surprised to hear this.**

 **Me: So will Smoke when I tell him the news.**

 **Dojo: *rapidly scratching himself* Can this celebration wait? A new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself.**

 **Omi: We'll take care of this. You guys head back to the Temple and put the Hoduku Mouse in the vault.**

 **Me: Will do, Omi. You readers may RRF. Archer out.**


	3. GX Era

**(Inside the Ace Chemicals plant, we make our way to the front of the main plant, where we find Mavis & Sofia tied up and surrounded by militia soldiers)**

 **Amber: Sofia! Mavis!**

 **Soldier: No one move!**

 **(The Arkham Knight arrives just as the soldier halts us)**

 **Arkham Knight: Well, you sure keep up with promises. I'll be taking the Shen Gong Wu now.**

 **(Omi gives him the backpack full of Shen Gong Wu)**

 **Kimiko: Alright, you have them. Now let them go.**

 **Arkham Knight: Actually, I think it would be better if I held on to them for a few more hours.**

 **Me: What?! We had a deal!**

 **Arkham Knight: Villains don't make deals! Lock them up! Lock them all up!**

 **(He notices four of his soldiers aiming their weapons at him and some of the others knocked out)**

 **Arkham Knight: What is this?**

 **Me: I knew you'd double cross us. That's why I had some of my troops sneak into your militia's ranks.**

 **Arkham Knight: Impressive. Too bad it won't save your friends.**

 **(He throws the backpack, scattering the Shen Gong Wu. Everyone scrambles to get any Shen Gong Wu before them. Omi and the Arkham Knight get their hands on the Paralyzing Prism, causing it to glow)**

 **Omi: Your trickery ends here, Arkham Knight! I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My Silk Spitter against your Mantis Flip Coin.**

 **Arkham Knight: Fine! And to even the odds, let's make this a Shen Yi Bu Dare. My Reversing Mirror against your Orb of Tornami.**

 **Omi: The game is Lightning Storm. First one hit by the lightning loses.**

 **Both: Let's go. Xiaolin Showdown!**

 **(The entire plant transforms into a Roman-style arena where Omi and the Arkham Knight stood in the center as the rest of us watched from the sidelines)**

 **Both: Gong Yi Tanpai!**

 **(Note: Chapter takes place five months after the Darkness Arc)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 3: GX Era

In the center of a seemingly endless ocean, sitting hundreds of miles off the nearest shores of Domino City, there sat a single island created by an erupting volcano a few million years ago. The now inactive volcano created a desolate land above the sea, where it flourished with flora and fauna. The island's location and beauty was definitely something that could grab anyone's attention. However, even beauteous sights have their fair share of dark secrets. Buried directly underneath the island, deep within the center were seven mystical stone gates, each one sealing away the three most dangerous, all with the power to deliver devastation and havoc in their wake: The Sacred Beast cards.

It was with the intention of wielding the limitless power of the Three Sacred Beasts that a man named Kagemaru built and opened a special school, an academy where young Duelists were taught and trained to become professional Duelists. That school was known by the name Duel Academy, bought, owned, and contributed to building by KaibaCorp's own CEO, Seto Kaiba. Aside from the ownership and the Professional Duelists who made it to the Pro League, this school was famous not just for being the first of the many Duel Academies that was built in different countries across the world, but for being the lonely rock where many mysterious and unexplained occurrences emanating from that very island.

And among the tens of thousands of students, amateur and veteran alike, there's only one who can answer the call whenever danger lingered near his home away from home.

That Duelist, on this very day, was staring out to the sea from behind his dorm. Some birds flew right past his sight but he continued to peer out into the seas as the summer breeze blew. He decided to pay Duel Academy a visit after his graduation. His orange-topped brown hair that extended to the back of his head by inches swayed with the wind. He wore his signature red uniform that signified his dorm, a white collar around the shoulders and snapped at the chest. Beneath his jacket was a black shirt and long white pants that reached down to his black-and-red shoes.

Strapped to his shoulder on a black strap was a black and red backpack. Peering from out of the backpack was a round, tan tabby cat, brown stripes decorating his legs, back, and up his long bushy tail, the end of that tail also brown. Jaden took a deep breath and soaked in the beautiful summer air.

Jaden Yuki smiled as he turned around and faced the Academy main building, which is composed of five dome roof buildings, the largest and smallest domes white and the other three domes red, yellow, and blue. Atop the dome buildings were stone obelisks guarding a stone altar.

"Ah, I just love Duel Academy, don't you, Pharaoh?" Jaden asked the tabby cat, who responds with a yawn, mixed in with a meow. The Slifer Red student crossed his arms and rested his hands on them as he let out a sigh. "I know what you mean, Pharaoh. It's been five months since Nightshroud was destroyed. I wonder what everyone else was thinking about where I went after I just took off without even saying goodbye."

Jaden let out another sigh, mixed in with a slight frown on his face. He remembered as clear as day a time in his senior year when he forgot that Dueling was so much fun. After his victory over the malevolent Nightshroud, a spirit of darkness who was obsessed with purging the entire Earth in his World of Darkness, Jaden left Duel Academy while in a distant melancholic spell. However, with the help of a certain Duelist who he met on the day of his tryout exam, Jaden reclaimed his love of Dueling and set off on another journey.

As the memories of his duel with the King of Games faded, Jaden smiled once again and lifted his head up high. "Still, I can't wait to see my old friends again." Jaden said to himself. "I can't believe I've been away for over five months. I wonder how the others will react when they see me."

Jaden smiled again as more and more of his memories at Duel Academy flashed into his mind. He remembered his days as when he was the best Slifer Red Duelist in the entire Academy. He remembered the Duels he fought so well in the Academy as well as the outcomes of most of those Duels ending in victory, some ending in defeat, and a few others ending in a draw. He even remembered his first Duel at the entrance exam, when he first squared off against Dr. Vellian Crowler and his signature Ancient Gear Golem. That was also the day he gained a close trusted friend.

Once his memories faded, Jaden pulled a single card from his deck. It was a Light-Attribute Fairy-Type Monster Card depicting of a small brown ball of fluff with big soulful eyes, white wings, and green clawed paws sticking out from its hairy body. That Monster was known as Winged Kuriboh, a special card which housed the spirit of the Fairy itself, given to him as good-luck gift from the King of Games himself. If it weren't for Winged Kuriboh and its support, Jaden wouldn't have lived to save the world and himself from certain chaos all those times ago.

At that same time, the ethereal spirit of Winged Kuriboh appeared near Jaden's right shoulder and spoke with a voice only Jaden can understand. "Yeah, I agree, pal." He replied. "It has been a while since the last time I Dueled. Maybe I'll get a chance to Duel Chazz again sometime, just for old time's sake. Don't you think, Pharaoh?" The tabby cat yawned once more, making Jaden smile. "Yeah, I think so, too."

As soon as the tabby cat yawned again, a small, glowing orb of light floated out of its mouth and hovered up to Jaden as another ethereal spirit appeared to Jaden's left. This spirit was of a tall, slender man with black hair tied to the back of his head in a ponytail. He wore a white shirt, a loose red tie, black pants, and a pair of rectangular framed glasses. He joined Jaden in eyeing the seas with his seemingly closed eyes.

" _My, my, five whole months since we left the island and nothing has changed._ " The spirit said with a slight Germanic accent.

"It sure hasn't, Banner." Jaden replied happily. "Of course, some of our friends would have changed while we're gone. I'll bet it wouldn't hurt them to see me once again."

" _That's a wonderful idea, Jaden._ " The spirit of the late Professor Lyman Banner agreed. " _In fact, this will be good for Pharaoh now that we're back on the island."_ Jaden's train of thought screeches to a halt as he starts to hear a beeping noise from his backpack. He pulls out his PDA and noticed he had a recorded message, from Chazz, no less.

" _Hey, Slifer Slacker, I hear you're back from your journey. About time you took a break. I've been waiting impatiently for our rematch. If you're in a rush to lose, come to the Duel Arena at 2PM for our exhibition match. I'll be waiting."_ Jaden sighed when heard Chazz's voice from the message.

"That's Chazz for you; arrogant and headstrong as always." Jaden said to himself as he put away his PDA and smiled. "Guess I'll head over there and give him a challenge." With that, Jaden took off towards the Duel Arena with Pharaoh following close behind.

* * *

Over at said Arena, a gathering of staff, headmasters, and students were waiting for Jaden's arrival. One pale-skinned, spiky-haired Duelist in particular was waiting in the center of the arena. He wore a tattered black jacket over a purple shirt, dark blue pants, and brown shoes. His casual outfit was usually worn at Duel Academy's rival school, North Academy, but this Duelist was an exception. Chazz Princeton was the second-best Duelist at Duel Academy and one of the richest ones at that.

"Where on earth is that slacker? I'm growing impatient here." Chazz said, tapping his foot repeatedly in a fast pace. It was when the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor came up to Chazz. The Chancellor, Sheppard, was a round, plump man with a fully bald head, save for the hair around his lip right down to his chin. He wore a raspberry blazer that signified him as the chancellor of the entire school, a yellow casual shirt and red necktie underneath the jacket. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Vellian Crowler, a self-proclaimed doctor with a PhD to top it all off in that department, was tall, scrawny, and had a face that many of the students mistook him as an old lady. He had long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail, wore and Obelisk Blue blazer with a pink, ruffled collar, and gold trimmings, complete with a pair of crescent moon earrings hanging from his ears.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Princeton. I'm sure Jaden will arrive soon for your duel." Chancellor Sheppard informed Chazz.

"And in case he doesn't, I'll gladly declare you winner by forfeit." Dr. Crowler added. But Chazz was not one to take this Duel sitting down.

"No, Crowler. I want this to be fair. I want to crush Jaden on my own terms." Chazz replied with an angered look on his face.

"I-If you say so, Mr. Princeton." Dr. Crowler replied as he and Chancellor Sheppard got down from the center field and sat in the sidelines. He then started to whisper to Chancellor Sheppard. "I'm not so sure if Jaden will make it in time."

"Oh, he will, Crowler. After all, he was the one who defeated you in his entrance exam Duel." Chancellor Sheppard told him.

"Don't remind me of my most humiliating defeat." Crowler responded with a scowl.

The stands are filled with a plethora of students, amateur and elite alike, eager to witness the Duel to end all Duels. A group of Duelists among them were eyeing the entrance. One such Duelist, however, was extremely nervous and worried. He clocks in at 5'6" despite his age. He has light blue hair sectioned in three layers and a pair of small, circular glasses perched on his nose. His attire is composed of his Obelisk Blue blazer over a black shirt with buttons on his collar underneath. His name is Syrus Truesdale, younger brother of Pro Duelist Zane Truesdale, a former top graduate who passed his Cyber Deck down to him when he was struck ill.

"I'm beginning to think he's not coming, just like at graduation." Syrus sighed sadly.

"Lighten up, soldier." A gruff voice chimed in. The owner of that voice was a tan-skinned muscular Duelist with black dreadlocks under a bandana that featured a dinosaur head. He wore a sleeveless Ra Yellow blazer over a green shirt, and beige pants worn under his military boots, complete with dinosaur bone earrings, a dinosaur necklace, white wristbands, and a belt buckle with a predatory face etched inside. His name is Tyranno Hassleberry, Duel Academy's Dinosaur Duelist who specialized in whipping his troops into tip-top shape. "I'm sure Jaden is on his way here."

"I sure hope so, Hassleberry. It has been five whole months since he left the island." Syrus added.

"What do you expect, Sy? Jaden's been quite distant during our third year." A female voice chimed. Syrus and Hassleberry turned around and saw another one of their friends. She had long auburn hair and brown eyes. Her attire is comprised of the female Obelisk Blue uniform, complete with light blue fingerless gloves. Her name is Alexis Rhodes, a brilliant Duelist and also the most beautiful Duelist ever to catch the eyes of practically every guy in the academy, including Syrus and Chazz, who occasionally fight over her affection.

"I know he has, Alexis, but if anything, I'm sure Jaden will be here." Syrus told her. Chazz managed to hear them from within the chatter.

"Why bother with him showing up? It's like Alexis said, Jaden's been very distant during our third year." Chazz said with a confident grin. "Face it; Jaden's nothing but a wuss and that's all he'll be from here on in." Chazz began to laugh nasally until he heard a familiar voice chime in.

"Say, that's pretty funny, coming from someone who's ready to lose." Everyone turned to the entrance and standing there was none other than Jaden.

"It's Jaden!" Syrus cried with tears forming in his eyes.

"It's about time." Chazz scowled.

"I knew I'd make it, and in the nick of time, too." Jaden said looking exhausted from the running.

"Heh-heh. Out of all the Duelists here, you must be the craziest one I know to accept my challenge. Tsk… And they called me crazy for swatting away imaginary spirits." Chazz taunted. Then, as if on cue, a trio of ethereal spirits wearing red bikini briefs appeared near Chazz. One spirit was black, chubby, and had a large nose. Another spirit was a green and muscular, but miniature Cyclopean spirit. The last spirit was yellow with a big mouth, big red lips, and long, protruding eye stalks where his eyes are. These are the spirits of Chazz's best monsters, known as the Ojama Brothers, annoyingly weak monsters who, with their combined power, makes up for with deadly and dangerous strategies.

" _Way to tell them, boss._ " Ojama Yellow said.

" _We always got your back, no matter what."_ Ojama Green chimed in.

" _Even if we're far apart, we'll always be together._ " Ojama Black concluded. Hearing those words, Chazz simply growled like a tiger upon hearing Ojama Black's comment. Then, with a swift swipe of his hands, he tries to swat away the spirits, only for them to escape his hands.

"For you, you'll always be together, but The Chazz flies solo, got that?! Now, get over here so I can knock it into your thick heads!" Chazz yelled as he continued to try and grab the spirits. To everyone else, Chazz was simply swiping the air and nothing else. Most of the students turned their heads in embarrassment while others simply ignored him. Jaden lightly chuckled while the rest of his friends looked on, a sweat drop on their heads.

"Five months since graduation and nothing has changed." Jaden mused with a smile on his face. Hearing that gained Chazz's attention and he later calmed himself.

"Alright, let's get this show started. Care to do the honors, Crowler?" Chancellor Sheppard asked.

"Gladly." Crowler responded as he came up to the Duel Field and pulled out a microphone. "Attention, students. The moment you've all been eagerly awaiting for is finally here: The very Duel that will go down in Duel Academy history!" As everyone hears Crowler's words, everyone begins to cheer loudly.

"Alright, alright, settle down, everyone. Now then, as all of you are aware, today is our five-month anniversary of our freedom from the malevolent spirit Nightshroud. And as a tradition, we will be hosting our very own Anniversary Duel between our top two Duelists here." Crowler continued as Jaden came up to the field, armed with his Duel Disk.

"Now, it's time to announce our competitors. On my right, we have the former student of North Academy, the youngest of the Princeton Brothers, and the only one of us to wear black instead of blue for majority of his stay…"

"Get on with it already!" Chazz shouted. "You're starting to bore the audience to sleep!"

The audience laughed up a heckle as Crowler reeled back from it, but soon straightened his pink frilly collar and cleared his throat just before pointing his finger in Chazz's direction. "Let's hear it for Mr. Chazz Princeton!"

On cue, the room went dark as a spotlight shined upon Chazz, who gasped in surprise. Once it did, everyone began to chant his famous mantra. "Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!" Chazz's response to the chanting was that he thrusted his fist into the air.

"And on my left, we have his opponent: the Slacker from Slifer Red, the top Duelist from the Academy's lowest dorm…"

"MRRROOOOOOWWWW~"

Crowler froze with fear upon hearing an all too familiar noise and felt something furry and heavy rub against his scrawny legs. He looks down slowly and gasped in shock as the Slifer Red dorm's pet, Pharaoh affectionately rubbing against his scrawny legs, giving out a loving meow. Crowler screamed liked a panicked woman and dropped his microphone as he frantically ran up to the stands and clung onto the railing like a startled cat.

"Someone call the exterminator!" Crowler screamed. "Call pest control! Get the Coast Guard! This campus is infested with rats!"

Everyone in the room, including Sheppard, laughed while Crowler hung onto the rails of the stands like the very animal he hated the most. The only one not laughing was Pharaoh, who meowed with curiosity. Sheppard walked up to the field, picked up the microphone and continued where his esteemed colleague left off.

"Please give it up for Chazz Princeton's opponent, Mr. Jaden Yuki!"

The spotlight then shone on Jaden, who waved to everyone in the stands. The crowd went wild, a notch or two wilder than Chazz's applause. Chazz and Jaden's gazes meet and their fiery auras began to ignite as both of them smiled.

"Well, this is quite the interesting little twist. We're finally dueling again and it looks like we're the main event." Chazz said as he revealed his Duel Disk to his rival while the Ojama Brothers appeared in a battle-ready pose. "So you ready to stand up to being knocked down by The Chazz, dork?"

"You know it, pal." Jaden replied as he revealed his Duel Disk, the spirit of Winged Kuriboh appearing next to him. "Alright, Chazz! Get ready to get your game on!"

* * *

(A few turns later…)

"Armed Dragon LV7! Time to use your special ability!" Chazz shouted as he discarded his Despair from the Dark Monster Card from his hand. "Shred his Bladedge to pieces with Serrated Sonic Discs!"

At its master's command, a red dragon with black armor and silver blades for wings (7/2800/1000) spun its three vertical stomach disks, which glowed as they buzzed out of its stomach and shot at Jaden's Elemental HERO Bladedge, (7/2600/1800) a gold-armored warrior with a head resembling a bull and wings spreading from his back. Bladedge blocked the sonic disks with the blades on his wrists, but he wasn't strong enough to deflect them as the sonic disks tore through Bladedge like scissors through a sheet of paper as the Elemental HERO exploded, making Jaden flinch from the force.

As the Duel continued, there were some people who were at the edge of their seats as Chazz's Armed Dragon gained an advantage over Jaden, who only got two face-downs on his field. Those were Alexis, Syrus, Hassleberry and Pharaoh, held in Alexis' lap. Sheppard and Crowler watched alongside their fellow staff members as they themselves are entranced by the battle. They haven't seen this much intense action since the Graduation Match between Jaden and Zane.

"Whoa! I've seen many awesome Duels in my life, but this one has to be the best Duels I've ever seen!" Syrus shouted.

"I know! Did you see how those two battled it out!?" Hassleberry asked feeling stoked to the point where he could literally explode. "I haven't seen them go at each other since Graduation Day!"

"Well, if there's one thing I can tell you about those two, it's this: they have become stronger since we last saw them." Alexis concurred with a gentle grin. "It's like my first year of Duel Academy, back when Jaden had fun with Dueling."

"There's the one thing about Jay that has never changed." Syrus said. "Jaden always loved Dueling. I've never seen Jaden this excited before."

"Well, hold on tight to your seats, private!" Hassleberry said. "This Duel is about to get even more exciting!"

Chazz stood on the field with a satisfied smirk as Jaden's defense against his all-powerful Dragon was destroyed by its effect. "How does it feel, Jaden?" he said. "You've got no monsters left on your field to protect you! All I need to do is attack with Armed Dragon LV7 and I'll finally win this Duel!

"Is that so, Chazz?" Jaden asked, making his rival gasp. "You forgot about my face-down card. The Trap Card, Elemental Mirage!" The Trap revealed itself and glowed with a bright light and began to crackle with a weave of cracks coursing through the card itself. "Since you got rid of my Elemental HERO with your Dragon's effect, it can return to my field! Come on back, Bladedge!"

The card of light shatters and in its place was the destroyed Warrior, emerging back into its original position on the field in Attack Mode. "Tough luck there, Chazzy-boy! Me and my Bladedge won't be going down that easy!"

"So what if you brought back that walking scrap pile!?" Chazz said. "Sure it saved your Life Points from becoming zero, but that doesn't mean they're safe from harm!" He raised the last card in his hand to the ceiling as it glowed with an eerie light. "Now, I sacrifice my Armed Dragon LV7 in order to summon Armed Dragon LV10!"

The Armed Dragon enveloped in light before it vanished. Appearing in its place was another Armed Dragon, only larger with bulkier muscles, armored plating all around its body, and a scary look in its eye (10/3000/2000). The Dragon bellowed a roar loud enough to resonate across the entire arena, giving everyone a shiver that made Pharaoh panic right before jumping off of Alexis' lap. With that, the crowd roared as Jaden looked up to Chazz's strongest monster, the feeling of adrenaline rushing like a bullet train through his veins.

"Sweet move, Chazz!" Jaden complimented on Chazz's tactic. "That Dragon looks stronger than the last time I saw it!"

"Oh, yeah!? Well, it's about time I show you how strong it's become!" Chazz pointed his finger to Bladedge and gave his command. "Armed Dragon LV10! Attack with Static Orb Thrust!" The Dragon formed a white ball of static energy in its claws and threw it at the Elemental HERO, dissipating the Warrior upon contact. Jaden shielded his face with his arm as soon as the force of the orb exploded and caused a wind and blew away 400 of Jaden's Life Points.

"Looks like your Bladedge is as dull as a butter knife!" Chazz taunted with a smirk. "I'll end my turn so you can make your last move."

"Oh, trust me, Chazz; it _will_ be my last move…" Jaden said to Chazz with a confident smile. "…for you, that is!"

"Say what!?"

"Yeah! Don't get me wrong, Chazz, you've really grown stronger over the last five months! It's true what they say: time flies when you have fun! I guess that goes for you and your Dueling! Then again, so have my Dueling strategies!" Jaden placed his hand on top of his deck and looked back up to him. "Now, I know you might be a bit rusty with my Dueling philosophy, so let me clue you in: at the end of the Duel, if you think you know it's all over for you and then, BAM! One draw can turn the tides!"

"Oh, please! Do you honestly think you can draw the card you need!?" Chazz replied with a skeptical gaze.

"Well, how else did you think I won my previous Duels?" Jaden asked. "I'm no King of Games, but I'm pretty sure my Deck is telling me something. And that something is I'm going to knock you back down, Chazz, and it starts right now!"

(Turn ?: Jaden)

Jaden looked at the card he drew, which was revealed as the Spell, Monster Reincarnation. "Sweet!" he said. "I drew just the card I need!" Chazz gasped followed by Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis, Sheppard, and Crowler. "I activate the Spell, Monster Reincarnation! Now, by sending a card in my hand to the Graveyard, I get to bring a Monster back to my hand!" Jaden sent Elemental HERO Necroshade from his hand as a Monster was brought out from the Graveyard. "And the Monster I pick is my Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!"

"So what's the point in doing that!?" Chazz replied. "You just got your little bird back into your hand! Even if you do manage to summon it onto your field, my Armed Dragon is going to…!" Chazz gasped and went wide-eyed as he realized something about his move. " _Oh no! The card he sent from his hand was Necroshade! If Jaden is going to do what I think he's going to do, then I'm toast big time!"_

"I know what you're thinking, Chazz, and you'd be right!" Jaden yelled back, looking to his Graveyard as a spectral image of a red Warrior with skeletal armor and giant white and red-marked shoulder pads appeared behind Jaden. "Now that my Elemental HERO Necroshade is in my Graveyard, I can summon a high-level HERO without making any sacrifices! I bet you're wondering who I'm about to summon, but it'd be better to just show you!"

Jaden slapped the Monster card on his Duel Disk's Monster Zone. "I summon my good friend Elemental HERO Neos!" A muscular white Warrior appeared, with red marks on its torso and thigh area with a blue jewel in the center of the chest. The underside of his bulky shoulder pads, the elongated forehead with a yellow diamond and the center of the neck was colored blue and bordered red while his black-colored fists clenched, ready for battle (7/2500/2000).

The audience roared with a wave of cheers, for everyone present knew that Neos was Jaden's signature monster a symbol of his Elemental HERO/Neos deck that led him to numerous victories. Syrus, Hassleberry, and Alexis all stood up, feeling the excitement of seeing the Slifer Red's best monster on the field and raring to go.

"Sam Hill! Jaden's brought out his best monster!" Hassleberry exclaimed.

"With that card, Jaden is sure to win this Duel!" Syrus shouted, jumping up and down, unable to contain his excitement. "Come on, Jay! Show Chazz what you're really made of!"

Chazz scoffed. "So what if you've got your best monster on the field? My Armed Dragon LV10 has 500 more Attack Points than your action figure! Face it, Jaden, one way or another, you're about to lose this Duel!"

Jaden smiled. "I wouldn't be too sure." He said to his opponent as he revealed a card in his hand. "I activate the Spell Card, Common Soul! Now I can choose a monster on the field and I get to summon a Neo-Spacian directly from my hand! With Neos out on my field, I get to call on my Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird to back him up!" A humanoid hummingbird with red feathers with blue markings on the torso, white wings, black-and-white talons with brown around its wrists and ankles, and a gold belt buckle with the letters "NS" in the center appeared beside Neos as it let out a screech and landed (3/800/600).

"Oh, and did I forget to mention Common Soul's other effect?" Jaden asked. "It transfers the Attack Power of my Air Hummingbird to Neos, giving him an eight-hundred point boost." Neos' body was covered in a light blue aura, which made his light blue eyes glow as well as his Attack Points increased by 800 (Elemental HERO Neos: 7/2500→3300/2000).

"GYAAAAHH! My Armed Dragon's no match against that muscle-head!" Chazz screamed in a panic.

"I'm not finished yet!" Jaden replied. "Now, I play the Equip Spell Neos Force! Now my Elemental HERO Neos gains an extra 800 Attack Points!" Neos raised its right fist as it glowed bright, increasing the Warrior's Attack Points by that number (Elemental HERO Neos: 7/3300→4100/2000). Jaden's friends and the Chancellors all gasped, followed by Chazz, who went wide-eyed with complete shock.

"No! This can't be happening!" Chazz yelped. "My Dragon's completely powerless now! How could his happen!?"

"I wouldn't worry about your Dragon too much, Chazz!" Jaden yelled. "But what you should be worried about is my Neos Force Equip Spell! See, once the equipped monster destroys your monster in battle… well, the Attack Points of your monster comes out of your Life Points!"

"And with Chazz's Life Points just below 3000, if this connects, Jaden will win the Duel!" Syrus stated.

"Go get 'em, Sarge!" Hassleberry shouted. "Slay that Dragon once and for all!"

"You heard him, Neos!" Jaden said, pointing to the opposing monster. "Attack Chazz's Armed Dragon and finish him off with Cosmic Crush!"

Chazz looked in horror as Neos charged in with his shining fist towards the towering red dragon. Then, the black-jacketed Duelist shook his head back into reality and growled in anger. "No, I won't let you win like this, Jaden! Not now! If I'm going down, then I might as well go down fighting! Armed Dragon LV10, counter his attack with Static Orb Thrust!"

Ojama Yellow suddenly appeared next to Chazz's shoulder with a frightened look on the yellow Beast's face as he tried to reach out to his owner. " _No, Boss, don't do this! If you really think I'm the ace of your Deck, then please, call off the attack! It's too dangerous!_ "

"Buzz off!" Chazz snapped as he swung his arm to the ethereal spirit, which vanished into dust as he looked to his strongest Dragon, his fist clenching with pumping flames. "Armed Dragon! Don't let that slacker's attack go through! Intercept it now!"

The Armed Dragon LV10 took its claws once again and formed an orb of static electricity before thrusting it towards the oncoming Warrior. Neos swung his illuminating fist back and brought it down on the orb, pushing each other back with all their might. With the Attack Points of Neos overpowering Armed Dragon's, it looked like Jaden was about to emerge from the Anniversary Duel a victorious man.

Suddenly, the ethereal spirit of Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Jaden, the fluffy Fairy looking scared and intimidated. "Hey, pal, is something wrong?" Winged Kuriboh spoke to Jaden frantically in his chirping speech as if he was urging the Slifer Red to something very important. Jaden's eyes widened. "Stop my attack!? Why!? What's going to happen!?"

The answer came to the Duelists in the form of a very strange circumstance. As Neos and Armed Dragon pushed each other's attack with their energized power, a chain reaction began to form around everyone as a strange wind suddenly blew where the attacks collided and pushed. Everybody in the audience shielded their eyes as the wind whipped up by the minute and followed with a bright light forming in the center of the colliding attacks. The first of its victims were Elemental HERO Neos and the Armed Dragon LV10, both monsters crying in pain as the light made them vanish into nothing.

"NEOS!"

"ARMED DRAGON!"

Both Jaden and Chazz began to scream as the light swallowed them, turning their cries into eerie wails, then disappearing. Syrus, Alexis, Hassleberry, and the two Chancellors all grunted as the light enveloped them too, as well as the entire audience, all not having a moment to escape as the bright illumination covered it and the entire school. Soon, all of Duel Academy and the island it rested on were caught in the expanding dome of light, followed by the oceans and the entire world. The light vanished shortly after. All of Duel Academy and everyone inside disappeared into the darkness of the Shadow Realm.

* * *

 **(After the Showdown, the Arkham Knight was lying on the ground, defeated. Anakin used his Lightsaber to cut the rope binding Mavis and Sofia)**

 **Arkham Knight: You… may have won, but I still have plenty of soldiers!**

 **(The militia appears from all sides and surrounds us)**

 **Me: Then, I think it's time for us to make our exit.**

 **(A giant ship appears from the sky flies right by us, forming a cloud of dust in the process. Once the dust cleared, the Arkham Knight notices that we're gone)**

 **Arkham Knight: I'll get you, Archer. You and all of your friends!**

 **(After dropping off Mavis in Transylvania, we return to the studio)**

 **Sofia: Thanks for saving me and Mavis, guys.**

 **Clay: Aw, shucks, princess. You're making me blush.**

 **Me: Yeah. We would've been goners if it hadn't been for the backup I called.**

 **Raimundo: Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Who did you call?**

 **?: That would be us.**

 **(We turn back to the ship and notice the Guardians of the Galaxy)**

 **Kimiko: The Guardians of the Galaxy? You called the Guardians of the Galaxy?**

 **Me: Yep. Everyone, meet Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot.**

 **Star-Lord: Pleased to meet you all.**

 **Groot: I am Groot.**

 **Me: That's right, Groot. Welcome to Cobalt Key Studios.**

 **Gamora: Wow! This place is enormous!**

 **Me: I see you like it, Gamora. I'll give you all the tour. You readers are welcome to RRF. Archer out!**


	4. 5D's Era

**(I wake up to a trashed base with a hangover)**

 **Me: Man, my head is aching! Now I know how Smoke feels after a party this wild.**

 **(I hear groaning from Groot upstairs)**

 **Groot: I am (Groans)…Groot.**

 **Rocket: (Wakes up) I hear you, buddy. Never again will things like this happen.**

 **(I see Cyborg in stasis mode on the couch with Vanellope, Simon, and Theodore slumped on top of him, Raimundo passed out on the snack table, and Isabella and Yuya sprawled on top of each other on the floor)**

 **?: Have we come at a bad time?**

 **(I turn around and see five people: three humans, a Lasat, and a Twi'lek. An orange droid accompanied them)**

 **Me: Hey, I know you guys. You're the Ghost Crew.**

 **Hera: That's right. I'm Hera, the ship's pilot. This is Ezra, Kanan, Sabine, Zeb, and this little droid is Chopper.**

 **Me: Pleased to meet you all. (Groans)**

 **Sabine: Are you alright?**

 **Me: Yeah. I just woke up with a bad headache after this crazy party last week. I feel okay, but everyone else is out cold.**

 **Ezra: Maybe we can help you out.**

 **Me: Good idea. Sabine, Zeb, you help me find everyone and wake them up. Kanan, Ezra, Hera, you three can clean the mess from the party. I'll let you know when we find everyone.**

 **Kanan: Got it.**

 **(Sabine, Zeb and I take off to look for everyone.)**

 **(Note: Chapter takes place about five weeks after the Divine Temple Arc and before the finale.)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 3: 5D's Era

 _Sirens blared throughout the building._

 _The facility's red alert lights glowed crimson._

 _An automated voice echoed, urging the people within the quaking building to evacuate immediately._

 _Everywhere within the halls, white jacket employees of the research facility were scrambling to find the closest exit._

 _In the center of it all was a glowing sealed cylinder, which contained illuminating discs which spun at incredibly dangerous speeds. The discs' spinning created imminent power surges through the currents of the machine, creating a chain reaction that affected the seismic activity within New Domino City. The more the Ener-D Reactor spun, the more unstable the energy inside grew and it became impossible to contain it. Everything that was supposed to happen didn't. In fact, it became a whole lot worse. The previous lead developer of the Ener-D research, a man with spiky black hair and tanned skin, warned the New Domino City council that if they do not shut the Ener-D Reactor off, it would cause a great and cataclysmic accident, but his efforts to have the research cancelled were turned down. And thanks to the council's most foolish decision, the new developer already plunged the city into turmoil and chaos. With the press of a sealed button, the Ener-D Reactor became completely unstable._

 _There was nothing Dr. Fudo could do at this point. Using whatever strength he has left after being bombarded by a few hits from the agents' ray guns, he carried his baby son to an escape capsule. Dr. Fudo carefully strapped the baby boy in the capsule and hit the "Eject" button. Suddenly, the glass over the capsule closed and contained the baby, almost muting his cries of anguish and sadness as the capsule's boosters launched him into the most distant part of New Domino City. Dr. Fudo looked on with melancholy as the very last thing he saw was the capsule containing his son, Yusei disappeared from view. The scientist then hung his head low as memories of him, his wife and baby Yusei flashed in his mind before the Reactor's unstable energy reached its peak._

 _And then, it happened._

 _The Reactor exploded into a colossal pillar of light and evaporated everyone and everything within a quarter-mile radius, creating a crater that reached deep underground. The explosion also triggered seismic activity and the ground cracked and split into two. The unfortunate citizens' wails for help turned into ghostly cries as they fell into the blazing maw of the split Earth, vanishing from the face of the Earth forever. The land that separated drifted off miles into the sea and created torrential funnels in its wake that sucked in any unlucky individual down into the sea and to their final fate. The incident left the world at a complete standstill and changed forever with the creation of the desolate remnant of New Domino City._

 _The Satellite._

* * *

Yusei Fudo awoke from his horrendous nightmare with a gasp.

He sat up on his bed, catching his breath as he looked around at his home, clutching his yellow-streaked spiky black hair. He resided in a garage next to the Poppo Time clock shop, a brick-layered apartment that was big enough to hold up to ten Duel Runners if placed in an organized manner. A railed ramp led up to the outside world where the city of New Domino was located and an overhead door on a wall used for bringing Duel Runners in and out. Three Duel Runners, one red with white decals belonging to Yusei, one white with a mono-wheel design belonging to his Dueling rival, Jack Atlas, and one black-and-orange with retractable wings belonging to Crow, another fellow Dueling rival.

It was on this morning, five weeks ago when a time-traveling organization known as Iliaster took drastic measures to stop the world of Duel Monsters from destroying their own future by attempting to destroy New Domino City using the Divine Temple. However, despite defeatng Iliaster's most powerful anti-Synchro Duelist Aporia, who was the true form of the three members of another Turbo Dueling team in the Grand Prix known as Team New World, the Grand Design was completed and the Temple appears and starts slowly descending onto the city. Everybody but Vice-Director Lazar, Officer Trudge, Chief Mina Simington, the MC who provided commentary in the Fortune Cup and the WRGP and the Signers had to evacuate the city. Using the power of the Signer Dragon Synchro monsters given to him by his friends, Iliaster was defeated once and for all, but at the heavy cost of their members' lives, including fellow Team 5D's member Bruno, who in reality was the masked Duelist known as Vizor. New Domino City worked hard to rebuild and regain after Iliaster's onslaught. So far, everyone and everything went smoothly with their attempts to move on with their happy lives.

But today, Yusei was anything but happy. Despite the foiling of Iliaster's plan at the hands of him and his friends, he still had those dreadful nightmares.

He kept still on his bed with his black sleeveless T-shirt with a red symbol on his chest, contemplating on the dream he had. The screaming people who perished during the Zero Reverse incident, the noises heard, even the emotions he never felt since he was born. True, dreams do come and go, but among the dreams Yusei had, this one was the most vivid of them all. What was the meaning behind the dream? Why would we have a vivid dream of his father's research? Why did he see his father's work compromised and New Domino destroyed by Zero Reverse?

Yusei looked at the Mark of the Dragon Head burned on his right arm with a depressed glance.

He then glanced at the calendar.

It was about that time again.

* * *

Yusei rode his red Duel Runner through one of the many highways of New Domino City. He wore his signature blue jacket over his black shirt with amber gems on his shoulders and the knees of his black jeans. He wore brown motorcycle boots that almost reached his knees and brown gloves with an amber gem on them on his arms and hands. A forlorn sadness decorated the Signer's face underneath his red motorcycle helmet as he looked at his home, now improved after the events of the Dark Signers and Iliaster. Sure his home wasn't destroyed, but today wasn't a time for him to look forward to a better future. Today was the time for him to contemplate his dream and mourn.

Over twenty years ago, Yusei's father headed the research on clean energy that would power the entire city, using the same energy residing in Duel Disks. The Ener-D Reactor was a success, until Dr. Fudo convinced the city council to shut down the reactor, afraid of the high possibility of a catastrophic event occurring should it continue. With his proposal refused and Roman Goodwin now heading the research, the disastrous event known as Zero Reverse came to fruition as Roman was consumed by the darkness of the Mark of the Spider on his right arm, which was opposed by his birthmark on his left arm, the Mark of the Crimson Dragon's Head. The result of the conflict was Roman taking the path of darkness, so to preserve his birthmark, he expunged the light that came with the mark from his system by severing his left arm and passing it on to his younger brother, Rex. With the reactor overloaded with power, Zero Reverse blasted away part of the city and left a small chunk of Earth, now perched miles away from the sea, to become the slumming wasteland known as the Satellite.

Seventeen years after the chaotic event, Rex Goodwin became the Director of New Domino City and the tensions between New Domino and the Satellite became known, as the citizens of New Domino City became weary of the people forced to live in an industrial dump run by Sector Security. Among the citizens of Satellite, Yusei Fudo was one of them, whose main goal was to reclaim his signature monster, the Synchro Monster Stardust Dragon, back from his Dueling rival, Jack Atlas. Little did he know that he was about to become a part of something greater, a part of a group with the power to summon a draconic entity of a red star to defeat the darkness rising in the Satellite: The Signers.

Prior to his knowledge of the Signers, Yusei obtained a birthmark that was later known to be the Mark of the Dragon Tail and discovered that he had a mission to join up with the other Signers, all with a piece of the Mark of the Crimson Dragon to defeat their sworn enemies, the Dark Signers, servants to the Earthbound Immortals and the King of the Netherworld and prevent the world's end. During his battle with Rex Goodwin, who was reborn a Dark Signer at the hands of his brother and leader of the Dark Signers, Roman, Yusei was given the Mark of the Dragon Head while the Dragon Tail mark was transferred to Crow and came out of the duel victorious. With the months following the Dark Signers, New Domino City was saved from destruction, the city and Satellite were connected, and everything became peaceful, all thanks in part to three grown-up orphans who grew up in the slums and bonded together like brothers.

Six months have passed and the barriers between Satellite and New Domino City were broken, both sides finding peace with each other by rebuilding the Satellite out from the urban decay and into a cleaner, brighter present. It has been six months since the last major incident and talk of mysterious happenings within the metropolitan city. Just then, a stone tablet fell from the sky and, with the speed and impact of a meteor, crashed into the outer limits of New Domino and Satellite. Coinciding with the crash was the arrival of three mysterious white-cloaked figures, each of them wearing a metal patch on their faces sporting an infinity symbol on it. Rumors of a mysterious Turbo Duelist called the Ghost began to arise, whose Deck was specially made for the extermination of what the Ghost referred to as "those nasty little things called Synchros."

Later on, the Signers have discovered that the mysterious trio was working for Iliaster, an organization dedicated to rewriting the past so that the cataclysmic future they suffered through would not come true. Yusei and the Signers were caught into the war as their Turbo Dueling Team, Team 5D's participated in the World Racing Grand Prix, a Turbo Dueling competition that covered the true goal of Iliaster: to create the Grand Design that would pinpoint the location of the descending Divine Temple, a spiral-like structure containing the sacred leader and founder of Iliaster, Z-one. The no-armed cyborg, who impersonated Yusei through a special device on his face and inside his head, intended to destroy New Domino City using the Divine Temple to fall and collide with the city, hoping to end the age of Synchro Monstes. Using the combined powers of the Signer Dragons given to him by his friends and the power of Clear Mind, Yusei defeated Z-one in a Duel to decide the fate of New Domino City and the cyborg sacrificed himself to destroy the Divine Temple and erase it from existence, bringing the long lost peace New Domino City longed for twenty whole years.

But Yusei himself was not feeling the peace he brought to the city. Especially since when he traveled to the past and defeated the malevolent Paradox, who intended to erase the past and every event that involved Duel Monsters with it. If it weren't for his efforts in teaming up with Jaden Yuki and Yugi Muto, the future would be nothing but a desolate wasteland.

He was still shaken by the dream to feel the tranquility he was known all around the city for.

He stopped and parked his Runner in front of the garage, where his two long-time foster brothers stood in front of the wide-open garage door with a contorted face filled with concern. The taller one, standing at the edge of the door had spiky blonde hair, two longer pieces of hair spanning down farther than the rest of his hair. He wore a collar around his neck, earrings in the shape of the letter "A", handless elbow-length gloves and a beige jacket, buckled at his waist by a belt, the buckle sporting the letter "A" as well. In New Domino City, the Duelist was known very well as Jack Atlas, the Master of Faster, the Sultan of Speed, and the King of Turbo Dueling. He's also a Signer bearing the Mark of the Dragon Wings.

The guy standing next to Jack was someone shorter and slightly more obnoxious than him. He had big, spiky orange hair, a grayish-black headband with two rings on the left side and yellow marks on his face signifying the times he was arrested and taken to the Facility, a maximum security prison underneath the city consisting of twin zigzag marks with a triangle underneath his eyes and an "M" on his forehead with a dot near the left side. He also wore two earrings with a nut hanging from the rings, a brown vest over his yellow sleeveless T-shirt and grey fingerless gloves on his hands. This Duelist was Crow, a Blackwing Duelist who stuck it out for the orphans of the Satellite before those very slums united with New Domino City, his Mark of the Dragon being the Tail.

"Decided to go for a ride through the city, Yusei?" Crow asked as Yusei parked his Duel Runner and took off his helmet.

"Yeah. I just need some time to clear my head for a moment." Yusei responded before looking toward the city.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned and opened at the top of the stairs, catching the attention of Jack and Crow as they saw three of their other friends arrive. One was a woman with red hair, her front bangs rolled up with a metallic curler and the side burns hanging down to her shoulders. She wore a red corset with puffy shoulder sleeves, long elbow-length black fingerless gloves with gold bands at the end and a short skirt. She also wore long stockings with gold bands at her thighs and red pump shoes. Her name is Akiza Izinski, a Psychic Duelist once alienated by humanity for her powers to bring Duel Monsters to life now welcomed to society, thanks to her for being part of the Signers. Her powers were gifted by the Mark of the Dragon's foot.

Next to Akiza were two kids, no older than thirteen years old, both of them fraternal twins sporting teal hair with side bangs framing their faces, white jackets and sneakers. The brother of the twins, Leo, had a big ponytail tied at the back of his head, wore a blue T-shirt and wrist bands on each of his wrists and blue sneakers. Luna, the sister, had two pigtails on both sides of her head her jacket had a pinkish tint. She wore a red long-sleeved shirt and knee-long socks down to her red sneakers. Luna is the one bearing the Mark of the Dragon Hand on her arm and Leo recently received the Mark of the Heart on his arm.

With a deep sinking feeling in the pit of their chests, Akiza, Leo and Luna all felt Yusei come down with a storm of depression and joined with Jack and Crow as they watched their friend sulk over the railing. "Is something wrong with Yusei?" Akiza asked softly.

"Beats me." Crow said as he kept his gaze towards Yusei. "All I know is when I woke up, we found that Yusei's Runner was gone. I can already tell he had that Zero Reverse dream, but I'm not sure if it's just the dream that made him worried this time. Perhaps it's something else… something pretty serious."

"Maybe we should talk to him, see what's going on in his head." Luna suggested.

"That's what we thought of doing, but we figured it'd be best to leave him alone to think for a while." Jack responded. "When Yusei's down in the dumps at this level, the wise thing to do is give him a lit'l space. He just got back from a ride through the city and he's been gone for a couple of hours."

"If Yusei's been gone for two whole hours, then why haven't you gone after him to talk to him?" Leo asked.

"Cause he's got a lot on his mind that he needs to sort out right now." Crow answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I wonder what we can do to snap him out of his funk."

Leo put a hand on his chin in thought. Then, it hit him like a slap to the face. "Hey, I've got an idea!"

"Well, let's hear it, Leo!" Luna exclaimed in wonder.

"Maybe we can cheer Yusei up if one of us Duels him." Leo explained.

"That's… actually not a bad idea." Luna said with a grin.

"I couldn't agree more." Akiza added, smiling.

"So who wants to ask him to Duel Yusei?" Leo asked.

"How about Jack?" Crow suggested. "He's dueled Yusei more times than I could remember."

"I suppose I've got no other choice." Jack sighed then smiled. "After all, I haven't had a good Duel against him since the Fortune Cup."

"That's the spirit, Jack!" Leo exclaimed.

"Oy, Yusei!" Jack called out, gaining Yusei's attention.

"What is it now, Jack?" He asked.

"I know you're feeling down after what happened, but we had no other choice. If Iliaster had won, New Domino City would be doomed." Jack explained. Yusei responded by turning around to face the city again. Seeing this, Jack had no other option.

"Alright, hear me out. How about a Duel? Just like old times?" Jack challenged, pointing his thumb towards his chest. "It'll do you a whole lot of good if you accept my challenge."

In response to the challenge, Yusei simply put his helmet back on his head and pressed the side button to lower the visor around his eyes. With a confident smile, Yusei looked towards Jack and Crow, who had their own helmets on and lowered their visors as well. Akiza and the twins gasped with glee, Crow chuckling upon gazing Yusei's smile and Jack cracking a grin of his own.

"Good to see that lit'l smile of yours, Yusei." Jack said. "Now let's take this out on the highway."

Yusei's smile grew a bit more competitive.

"Alright, Jack. Let's do this!"

* * *

Two Duel Runners sped down the highway, stretching across the sea connecting New Domino City and the Satellite.

Yusei, Jack and Crow rode their respective Duel Runners down the roads, swerving past cars with total ease. The feel of the wheels running on the road and the cooling winds sliding across their faces each gave them a comforting feeling. The ride was being recorded via a video transmission feed through Crow's Duel Runner and was transferred to a video panel on Akiza's Duel Runner, a crimson motorcycle-like vehicle with two blade wings retracted to both sides of the two-runner. On the stands overlooking most of the Turbo Dueling courses, Akiza, Leo, and Luna watched from the monitor, both preparing for the big match to begin.

Yusei was the calmest out of the Turbo Duelists riding in their Duel Runners waiting for the thrill of the ride to come to them in unfeeling waves. He loved Turbo Dueling as much as the next guy did, whether it was on the road or watching from the spectator stands; but for now, Yusei's love of Dueling had to wait as he contemplated on the present, a sage advice given to him by his old friend and long-time Dueling rival, Jack Atlas. Jack clenched his throttle, ready to crush his opponent in the upcoming Turbo Duel while Crow watched up close and the twins and Psychic Duelist watched from afar.

"Hope you're ready to Duel, Yusei, because I'm about to kick this Turbo Duel into overdrive!" Jack called out, uttering one of his signature lines. Yusei smiles upon hearing his line.

"I'm more than just ready to Duel, Jack. I'm ready to win!" Yusei shouted with a smirk. "I activate Speed World 2!"

Yusei pressed the button at the top of his right throttle and the card Speed World 2 appeared on his and Jack's monitor screens. Then, a female-sounding automated voice activated in response to the card's activation. " _Duel Mode engaged_ _. Autopilot activated._ " A white circle with a thin outline of light expanded from Yusei's Duel Runner and in response to the light, the lane line glowed yellow. The side walls on the highway popped up to reveal a black screen, revealing the words "DUEL LANE" in bright yellow colors and the lane number underneath in a blue design.

On the glowing lane line, a red holographic wall appeared, spelling out "DUEL" in perfect red held by two yellow brackets over and under the red letters. Sirens blared and caught the attention of all who traveled down the New Domino City road. " _A Turbo Duel is about to begin. All non-Dueling vehicles must vacate the combat lane immediately._ " The female voice rang out as numerous cars, trucks and vans swerved into the lane left of them while the Duel Runners passed them all on the road.

A digital map of New Domino City's Turbo Duel Circuits appeared on the monitor, all tracing the tracks in a different color all determining a perfect Dueling course for Yusei and Jack to duke it out in their Turbo Duel. " _Formulating crosstown Duel Course and awaiting central grid course's official authorization._ " All but one course, colored yellow, disappeared. A symbol with three green up arrows appeared on Yusei's monitor. " _Authorization granted._ "

Then, somewhere along the edge of the road, a holographic yellow line appeared with the words "CAUTION – DUEL LANE SET" as the same lanes rose up, sirens blaring of the road's configuration warning. " _Combat lane transfiguration underway. Combat lane transfiguration underway._ " The lifting roads also had lengthy black screens with the yellow words "DUEL LANE SET" moving along the screen. Yusei, Jack and Crow's Duel Runners traveled along the road into an open barricade, which guided the three Turbo Duelists into a course, protected by curving panes of transparent yellow glass supporting one another. From Akiza's Duel Runner monitor, Leo, Luna and Akiza cheered for Yusei on the stands, wishing him to do his best as he, Jack and Crow took the first turn.

"Now the stage is set for our Duel, Yusei." Jack said. "You're more than welcome to back out now, if you'd like. I won't hold it against you to throw in the towel."

"It's too late for me to back out now, Jack." Yusei responded. "I've already made it this far to turn back and I'm not the kind of person to turn down a challenge, especially from an old friend."

Jack grinned, chuckling a bit. "That's what I like about you, Yusei. You have spirit. In fact, since you're so spirited about our Duel, I'll let you take the first turn."

"Right." Yusei looked on ahead and closed his eyes, again slipping into a meditative contemplation. " _This Duel isn't just a win/lose situation. It's about helping me look forward to a brighter future like I have with the people of New Domino and my friends. In order to accomplish this, I'll need all the power from my Deck to help me out in this Duel._ "

Yusei's eyes snapped open. "All right, Jack! This is where it happens!" Yusei and Jack drew their five cards from their respective Decks, ready to give each other a Duel they'll never forget as they exclaimed a famous mantra uttered among Turbo Duelists, amateur and professional alike.

"Let's ride!"

* * *

(Some turns later…)

An explosion occurred somewhere along the curve of the Duel Circuit.

Emerging from the billowing smoke was Yusei with one monster on the field and two face-down cards. The monster was known as Shield Warrior (3/800/1600), a tan-skinned Warrior with a three-blade spear in one hand and a large grey shield with a gold border in another. His clothing is comprised of black armor around his head, shoulders, arms, and legs with white pants. Blue gems are seen on his knees as the Warrior raised his shield in a defensive stance.

Jack's field also contained one monster, an armored Warrior monster with three blades attached to each of its dark orange gauntlets. The Twin-Sword Marauder (4/1600/1000) wore black shoulder guards, a blue vest with a golden trim, blue pants and black boots with a yellow outline while a black helmet-like mask shrouded its face. Three face-down cards were also left on the field as Jack sported a devastating grin. The Master of Faster knew what plans Yusei had in store, and he couldn't wait to see what it was. After all, he had a perfect counterattack just waiting to take down his long-time rival.

Crow followed his two foster brothers, recording the events on his Duel Runner transmission feed fed right to Akiza's Duel Runner, the owner and the fraternal twins all watching at the track's starting line, watching the Duel from the monitor. Leo and Luna cheered Yusei on while Akiza watched smiling, noticing the change in Yusei's embrace to his own future.

"Whoo-hoo! Way to go, Yusei!" Leo cheered with vigor. "Now go and give Jack a good old-fashioned beating!"

"You do know that this is a Duel and not a boxing match, don't you, Leo?" Luna asked with a sigh.

"You know what I mean!" Leo argued.

" _It looks like Yusei is giving his all in this Duel, and he's not even gloomy about the dream anymore._ " Akiza noted in her thoughts, smiling at Yusei as he kept focused and very clear-minded. " _I hope this Duel can bring the Yusei I know back. I'd like to see it just one time._ "

The three Duel Runners turned around the corner of a declining ramp, leading underneath the finished Daedalus Bridge, a large highway bridge forked at the Satellite's harbor, where the original incomplete bridge stood tall as a symbol of freedom, built by a certain legendary man with the goal of uniting the Satellite with New Domino City. At the center of the highway and the sea was an arch, much similar to St. Louis' Gateway Arch, with what appears to be gigantic ring with a large diamond at the apex. If one could turn their head sideways, they could see the ring and its reflection in the water create an infinity symbol turned vertically.

As the Duel Runners turned onto a flatter ramp stretching across the water, Crow watched on, giving Yusei all of his support. "Looks like Yusei will need a good draw if he has to come out on top this round." He noted before clenching his fist with support. "Go for it, Yusei! Give Jack a reminder why you're the hero of New Domino City!"

* * *

(Turn ?: Yusei)

"It's my turn, Jack…"

SPC: Yusei: 5→6/Jack: 6→7

"…And I summon out Debris Dragon!"

With one slap of the card, a circular portal appeared next to Yusei's Duel Runner, revealing a white dragon with green pads across its elbows and knees. Orange gems decorate the Dragon's shoulders and chest and three horns from its head and the fourth serving as its nose with a bard at the end. Grey spikes protrude from its black-and-white wings as it roared, ready for battle. (4/1000/2000)

Jack's confident smirk quickly changed into a look of shock. "A Tuner monster?!"

"Not just any Tuner, Jack! You probably don't remember Debris Dragon's special ability, so let me jog your memory. When I successfully summon this card, I can bring back a monster from the Graveyard as long as its Attack Points are no more than 500. So I'm bringing back Tuningware!" Yusei explained as another portal appeared, revealing a small orange robot with green palms and feet. Its head is concealed by a giant metal pan and a yellow scarf, showing only its green eyes. (1/100/300)

"I can already tell that you're about to bring out your precious Stardust Dragon, am I wrong, Yusei?" Jack sneered.

"You took those words right out of my mouth!" Yusei thrusts his hand forward and declared his next move. "Now I tune Level 3 Shield Warrior and Level 1 Tuningware with Level 4 Debris Dragon!" The white dragon roars as it turned into light before converging into four orbs of light. The orbs of light then turned into neon green rings which cloaked the bodies of Shield Warrior and Tuningware, turning their bodies transparent and their outlines yellow as four other orbs of light were revealed in the two monsters' insides while they disappeared, leaving the orbs behind.

"Out of three will come one, and out of one will come great cosmic might!" The rings created a pillar of light, which shone horizontally next to Yusei as his signature Dragon emerged from the light. "I Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon!"

From the light pillar came a silvery-white Dragon with purple nearly-transparent orbs on its chest and wings. Four horns protrude from its head, three from the back and one serving as its nose with a bard at the end. The dragon's scales underneath its silvery armor sparkled and shined as its wings thrusted into the air, giving off a majestic screech as it hovered near Yusei's Duel Runner, raring to go into battle. (8/2500/2000)

"Now that's a move worthy of the Satellite's Shooting Star!" Crow exclaimed as Stardust Dragon descended near Yusei's Duel Runner. "Now come on, Yusei, give Jack everything you've got!"

"That's just what I'm about to do! Since I used Tuningware as a Synchro Material, I can draw one card." Yusei draws his card. "Stardust Dragon, blast that Twin-Sword Marauder to smithereens!" Yusei commanded with an upward thrust of his arm as the silvery dragon charged a breath of gleaming light in its mouth. Noticing Stardust Dragon about to attack, Jack snickered.

"That's what I was waiting for, Yusei." Yusei gasped upon hearing Jack's response. "Do you honestly think I didn't have anything to counter your attack? I activate the Trap Overgain! Now my monster gains 1000 Attack Points until the end of the turn." The Warrior starts to glow, increasing his strength from the trap. (4/1600→2600/1000) "Now my Twin-Sword Marauder's about to cut your dragon down to size!"

"Not this time, Jack!" Yusei smirked, making Jack's eyes widen with realization. "Go, Synchro Strike! Now my Synchro monster gains 500 extra Attack Points for each Synchro Material monster I used. Since I Synchro Summoned my Stardust Dragon using three monsters, it means it gains an extra 1500 points until the End Phase of this turn!" Stardust Dragon bellowed as it glowed with power circulating through its body. (8/2500→4000/2000) "And that's more than enough to take your Marauder down! Stardust Dragon, attack with Cosmic Flare!" The shining dragon fired its blast of light from its maw. The Twin-Sword Marauder exploded in a shower of light shards and blew to Jack's Duel Runner as his Life Points dropped by 1400. Jack chuckled lightly.

"Not bad, Yusei." He complimented. "It looks like you still have some fight in you after all."

"Alright, Yusei, way to go!" Crow cheered, clenching his fist excitingly. "You got Jack on the ropes now!"

Leo, Luna, and Akiza cheered from the stands as they watched Yusei take a big lead ahead of Jack's Life Points on Akiza's Duel Runner monitor. "Aw, yeah! Did you see that!? Did you just see Yusei completely cream Jack's Life Points?"

"Yeah, I did, Leo." Luna replied. "I was watching the Duel with you the whole time."

Leo raised his clenched fists up in front of his face, both trembling at the level of Leo's climbing exhilaration "This Duel is so awesome! Yusei and Jack are going at each other just like their Duel in the Fortune Cup and neither one of them are holding back their full power! This is so exciting, I could just explode!"

"Just try not to explode on me, Leo." Luna retorted. "I just had these clothes washed yesterday." Akiza smiled with glimmering crimson eyes watching the twins bicker. Her attention is then turned to her monitor, which cut off to an aerial view of the three foster brothers, Yusei's face showing stoicism, confidence, and competition.

The Turbo Dueling Course turned around a right corner before moving onto a straight road across the sea, which would lead up to an upwards left ramp leading back into the city. Before that could happen, Yusei managed to pull ahead from Jack, the latter's Duel Runner slowing down from the impact of the 1400 Life Point damage dealt to him.

"That's quite the impressive move, Yusei." Jack confessed. "But it's going to take a lot more than losing a chunk of my Life Points to take lit'l old me down."

"That's what I plan on doing, Jack." Yusei picked up a card from his hand and Sets it on the field. "I place one card face down and end my turn. And with that, Stardust Dragon's Attack Points return to normal." The glowing red aura around Stardust Dragon vanished, returning its strength to normal. (8/4000→2500/2000)

* * *

(Turn ?: Jack)

"Then it's my move!" Jack shouted as he drew his card.

SPC: Yusei: 6→7/Jack: 7→8

"For starters, I'll summon the Tuner monster Trust Guardian!" Jack slapped the Monster Card down. From a circular portal, a small pixie with pink wings flew out. He wore a red helmet with two smaller white wings and a blue robe with a green collar and a yellow trim. (3/0/800)

"But I'm not done, Yusei! Now I activate the Powerful Rebirth Trap Card!" The Trap Card flipped up as Jack explained the card's effect. "Now I get to summon one monster from my Graveyard as long as its Level is four or below! Twin-Sword Marauder, come forth and rejoin the fray!" Out from the artwork's glow, the blade-wielding Warrior reappeared with a battle cry. (4/1600/1000)

Yusei looked back at Jack's field when he made his move. " _Why bring back that card? Twin-Sword Marauder isn't strong enough to take down my dragon._ " And that was when it hit him. " _Unless…_ "

"I take it you remember Powerful Rebirth's other effect, Yusei. But just to make sure, I'll explain it to you." Jack glared. "Any monster summoned by the effect of Powerful Rebirth gains one Level and one hundred Attack and Defense Points." The blade-wielding Warrior glows a red aura, increasing its strength. (4→5/1600→1700/1000→1100)

Akiza and the twins gasped in shock, watching the Duel on Akiza's monitor. "Now Jack has all he needs to bring out his top monster!" Leo exclaimed.

Jack waved his hand and declared his next move. "Now that that's done, I tune Level 3 Trust Guardian with Level 5 Twin-Sword Marauder!"

Trust Guardian flew upward before turning into three orbs of light. The orbs turned into circular green rings which descended over Twin-Sword Marauder, turning its outlines neon orange and revealing five similar orbs within. "In an inferno of power and might, a blazing new beast is forged!" Jack chanted as the five orbs aligned themselves before a pillar of light was shot into the rings. "I Synchro Summon the Red Dragon Archfiend!"

Appearing out of the pillar of light was a black-armored dragon protecting its red scales, three horns protruding from both sides and the top of its head. Its orange eyes gleamed with light as it bared its red toothy jaws, bellowing out an earsplitting roar as the light disappeared, revealing the true form of Red Dragon Archfiend. Its crimson wings spread out to its full width as the shoulders, chest, belly and legs were protected by armor-like red scales, scarlet armbands clamped over the arms that led to the dragon's opposable thumbed claws. The dragon's waist was held by red plating with spikes poking out of the scales while the beast took flight alongside Jack. (8/3000/2000)

Both Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend stared each other down, their gleaming eyes devoid of pupils, but showing equal ferocity as they roared at each other. Yusei grinned at the appearance of Jack's signature monster, not knowing that the real Duel was about to begin. "Some things never change, do they, Jack?" Yusei asked.

"I guess not, but let me ask you this." Jack said. "Do you remember the last time we dueled against each other without something happening that could change the world?" Yusei thought it over for a moment, but couldn't come up with a clear answer.

"That's what I thought. Every time we duel each other, something bad happens to us and New Domino City. Do you truly believe that you could keep the future safe on your own?"

Yusei then meditated for a moment before answering to Jack. "…Now that you mention it, our efforts in protecting New Domino City is what brought us together. You, Crow, Akiza, Leo, Luna, we're all connected not just by our marks, but by the bonds we share."

"Exactly my point!" Jack replied. "Even if we're far apart from one another, our bonds are still as strong as ever! Even when we were driven into a corner by the Dark Signers or Iliaster, we still came out on top as a team!"

Jack's words made Yusei bow his head, the visor concealing his eyes. "You're right, Jack. I was so afraid of what might happen to New Domino City if we failed to stop them. But now, thanks to you guys, I'm no longer afraid anymore! My fears are all in the past now and I'm ready to win this Duel! Come at me, Jack! Our Dragons are born to battle!"

"If that's what you want, Yusei, then I'll be more than happy to oblige!" Jack quipped as he declared his move. "Red Dragon Archfiend, attack his Stardust Dragon with Absolute Powerforce!" The Dragon complied as it gathered a flame in its maw and blasted it towards its draconic rival. Stardust Dragon roared in retaliation as the fire neared its body and made impact with its body. Crow, Akiza, Leo, and Luna all watched the unfolding Duel with shock.

"You better have another trick up your arsenal, Yusei!" Crow shouted. "Otherwise, your Dragon is done for!"

Jack spread a triumphant grin across his lips. "Well, it looks like Red Dragon Archfiend is victorious after all. After all that talk about facing your fear, you're still not ready."

"Perhaps not, Jack, but I'll let the cards speak for themselves." Yusei retorted, causing Jack to widen his eyes with shock. "Go, Synchro Striker Unit! Now I can Equip this card to my Stardust Dragon, giving it an extra thousand Attack Points, making it 500 points stronger than your Dragon!" As Yusei explained, Stardust Dragon roared as his Attack Power was increased by the aforementioned amount. (8/2500→3500/2000)

"3500 Attack Points!?" Jack shouted.

"That's right, Jack, and now my Stardust Dragon will use them to counterattack!" Yusei thrust his arm up to the sky as the silvery Dragon gathered a breath of light in its mouth. "Go, Stardust Dragon! Push back that Dragon's attack with Cosmic Flare!"

Complying with its master's call, the silvery draconian shot its light back at the fiery breath, pushing the Absolute Powerforce attack back to the Red Dragon Archfiend. Soon, both of the rivaling Signer Dragons were caught in a stalemate, pushing their breaths against each other with a slightly uneven force. Suddenly, the force of the pushing attacks caused a strange pulse in the atmosphere, causing a weird, single heartbeat to bump in the Signers' chests as their world briefly inverted into negativity.

"What just happened?" Yusei asked.

"I don't know." Jack replied. "It felt like my heart wanted to jump right out of my chest."

"I'll bet that pulse has to do with the Dragons." Crow guessed.

Then, all at once, the Marks of the Dragon on the trio's arm glowed a crimson red, the sensation like a feeling a burning brand on their right arm. At the bleachers, Akiza, Leo and Luna felt their marks as well, like a red alert was given through a mystic spring. "Our marks! Why are they glowing?!" Leo shouted.

"I don't know, Leo!" Luna answered cringing with pain. "But I feel as though the Crimson Dragon is warning us that something bad is about to happen!"

"Like how bad is it!?"

Once Leo asked his question, another strange pulse erupted from the opposing Signer Dragons' blasts, causing the weird sensation in their chests to pound like a drum. In response to the pulse, the Signers' Marks began to glow brighter and burn hotter. "I think it's an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it kind of bad!" Luna shouted as she gripped her arm to hold against the pain.

"But how is this happening?!" Akiza wondered. "It's impossible for these strange pulses to appear out of thin air like that! Unless…" Akiza looked to her Duel Runner monitor, the screen going fuzzy from the pulses as Crow recorded the attack. Soon, another pulse waved out from the Dragons' parrying attack, and with it, came the screen going completely fuzzy.

Another pound in her chest confirmed Akiza's worries. "That's it!"

Crow grunted while he rode his Duel Runner, the effects of the strange pulses already taking its toll. Crow's Blackbird monitor blinked for a second and a video of Akiza's face appeared on his screen. " _Crow! I need you to tell Yusei and Jack to stop the Duel!_ " Akiza urged from her fuzzy screen. " _If you don't, then something bad is about to happen!_ "

Crow's pained face turned to shock before he looked up to his Dueling foster brothers. "You heard the lady, guys! Call off the Duel!" The Winged-Beast Duelist shouted. "If you guys continue this attack, then for all intense and purposes, New Domino City could go _ka-boom_ again!" Both of the Dueling Signers gasped as they heard the news, but no sooner as the midpoint of the attacks began to form a brilliant, mysterious light.

"Too late!" Yusei shouted. "Something's already happening!"

"What is that light?!" Jack shouted as the light continued to grow bigger.

"I don't know!" Crow answered. "But whatever it is, I suggest you guys brace yourselves! This could get really rough!"

Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend both bellowed a pained roar as the light expanded to their bodies, both of them disappearing into the deadly brilliance before expanding to claim Yusei, Jack and Crow as its next victims. Yusei grit his teeth and grunts, Jack yelled lightly to cope with his fears and Crow screamed as they disappeared into the light, which quickly illuminated the Dueling course tracks and the stands. Akiza shielded her eyes and screamed while the twins hugged each other for protection, both of them showing great fear in screaming too. Soon, their screams became silent echoes as the light covered the sea, all of New Domino City and Satellite, all in one endless flash.

Just like the original Domino City and Duel Academy Island afterwards, New Domino City and Satellite were next to join them in the darkness that is the Shadow Realm.

* * *

 **(I am in the third floor hallways meeting with Sabine and Zeb)**

 **Me: You guys find anyone?**

 **Sabine: I found two fairies in the arcade that looked to be sisters.**

 **Zeb: And I just found a metal-armed man passed out in the gym.**

 **Me: Okay, so far we found everybody but Gloyd and Taffyta. And it's safe to assume that they're in either of their rooms. Sabine, you check Taffyta's room. Zeb and I will check Gloyd's.**

 **(Sabine knocks on the door to Taffyta's room. No answer. I knock on the door to Gloyd's and notice it was unlocked. I slowly open the door and see a shocking sight. I quickly close the door and shudder)**

 **Zeb: What did you see?**

 **Me: Something I should regret seeing for a long time.**

 **Sabine: Maybe you should tell us.**

 **Me: Maybe later. I better get this chapter uploaded and take some time off from my work. You readers may read, review, or fav. Archer out.**


	5. ZEXAL Era

**(I'm in my workshop brainstorming for some future stories when I hear a knock at the door)**

 **Me: Huh. I wonder who that is.**

 **(I go to the front door and find a 9-year-old with blue hair wearing an orange shirt underneath a black unzipped hoodie, green cargo pants and black fingerless gloves with metal gauntlets along with a peregrine falcon. I identify him almost right away)**

 **Me: Peregrine? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Eagle's place?**

 **Peregrine: Yeah, but he fired me for pulling a prank on him.**

 **Me: What kind of prank was it?**

 **Peregrine: I pretended to kidnap his family and threatened to kill them if he didn't write a story explaining the plots of the three Sofia the First specials.**

 **Me: Yeah, I remember.**

 **(I notice Shay walking by)**

 **Shay: Who's at the door?**

 **Me: One of Eagle's old OCs. He came here because his boss fired him over a prank.**

 **Peregrine: Fernando Sanchez, prince of Galdiz. Friends call me Peregrine. This is my pet falcon, Lightning. And you are?**

 **Shay: Name's Shay, Shay Obsidian.**

 **Peregrine: Nice name. Say, I hear you have some pretty good stories.**

 **Me: Oh, yeah. In fact, I was just about to update one right now.**

 **Peregrine: Mind if I take a look at it?**

 **Me: Why not? A fan of mine was waiting for me to update it anyway.**

 **(Note: Chapter's setting takes place four months after the finale. Also, the anime effects of the Number cards will be applied.)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 4: ZEXAL Era

Heartland City, an aspiring city filled with a light show emerging from the buildings. The center, simply known as Heartland, was simply the brightest and most festive part of the area. A lone, gigantic tower stood in the very center of Heartland, a pink heart perched at the top of the spire symbolizing the city's name and the proverbial heart of the city. Heartland City never looked so beautiful, not since the Earth became the battlefield for the Interdimensional War between the Astral World and the Barian World, and Heartland being the focal point for every major battle that occurred.

It began a very long time ago when the malevolent deity of the Barian World, Don Thousand battled against the emissary of the Astral World, a spirit named Astral, for the possession of the Numeron Code, a card held by legend as a divine card, forged from a single tear shed from an all-powerful dragon that fell down to Earth. That tear formed a card that holds records to everything in the universe and had the power to shape reality. With the use of this card's power, the Astral World or the Barian World would annihilate their counterpart, thus ending a war that lasted for thousands of years. Though Don Thousand was defeated and sealed away by the power of Astral's Shining Draw, remnants of Astral were scattered across the Earth, taking the form of fifty Number cards that fell to earth, seven being wielded by seven heroes or sages and the first original four to seal the power of the Numeron away.

However, Don Thousand anticipated the arrival of the Number-wielding heroes and staged their imminent doom, reincarnating them as the Seven Emperors of the Barian World and using his own remnants – seven Over One-Hundred Numbers – and using the Seven Emperors as the instruments in his attempt to destroy Astral World. Years became decades. Decades became centuries. Centuries became millennia. In all that time, the Astral and Barian Worlds both withheld their plans to go against each other in war, until one eccentric Duelist appeared before them, armed and ready to take on the challenges handed down to him by the two interdimensional worlds.

That Duelist was a boy named Yuma Tsukumo. He was a short fellow for someone fourteen years of age, black and red hair that jutted out and upwards. He wore a red vest with a white hood over his blue sleeveless T-shirt, a big green "D" on the front that stood for "Duel". On his right arm, he wore a black pad on his elbow and a big bracelet on his wrist while he wore a brown fingerless glove on his left hand. His white pants were held up by his brown-and-white-strapped belt, orange crescent moons with yellow outlines at the bottom with his blue-streaked sneakers held with white straps. Around his neck hung a golden triangular pendant with a green jewel in the round center at the top, a gift given to him by his father, Kazuma.

When Yuma was young, his parents, Kazuma and Mira Tsukumo vanished, one after another. Kazuma and his companion, Byron Arclight had been researching twenty-three dimensional doorways, all theoretically leading into another world. Their head of research and founder of Heartland, Dr. Faker, turned traitor and sacrificed them into a pit that the three of them discovered with the intent of opening a door to the Barian World. Mira Tsukumo searched and scanned the entire world to find her lost husband, but under mysterious circumstances, she was lost from Earth as well, ending up back with Kazuma in Astral World. Ever since they disappeared, Yuma and his older sister, Kari placed in the care of their grandmother, Haru. Kazuma's legacy came to Yuma in the form of the Emperor's Key hanging down from his neck and the never-say-never spirit of adventure in the form of his signature motto.

Feel the flow.

That saying brought Yuma to the day everything began, four months ago when he stood up to the school bully, Reginald Kastle, AKA Shark, a Duelist who was once a Pro Leaguer. When the two Duelists clashed at Heartland Square, located outside of the Heartland Shopping Mall, a strange occurrence happened. When Yuma opposed Shark's superior complex with the power to, as Yuma puts it, "high five the sky", his key, shattered the day before by the WATER Duelist's heel, fixed itself and Yuma found himself standing face-to-face with a sinister-looking Door. The Door explained that Yuma would obtain a great power at the cost of losing something important to him. With his Key repaired, Yuma leapt and inserted the Key into the Door, breaking the chains holding it closed and found himself beset by a mysterious entity flying from the Door. After Yuma was trapped in a sphere comprised of mysterious blank cards, another strange thing happened.

Shark was being influenced by a sinister force not from Earth and it came from the form of Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, an Xyz Monster that can only be destroyed in a battle by another Number card, a card Yuma never obtained until he met the amnesiac entity first visible only through Yuma's eyes: a being named Astral. Astral was a glowing humanoid energy being with a transparent blue body, some parts of him shining with a bit of white lights. He had blue hair in the shape of a Mohawk, pointed ears pierced with otherworldly earrings and blue gems and green markings all over his body. Astral's eyes were uniquely different, the left eye being gold and the right being pure white. His outstanding qualities usually involved his Dueling expertise and his ability to keep calm and cool in even the most critical situations.

From the first minute of meeting each other, Yuma and Astral got along like a stoic lemur getting along with a spitting viper. Although, it was Astral's power that Yuma obtained his first Number and Xyz Monster: Number 39: Utopia. With a combination of Utopia and Double or Nothing, Yuma won his Duel against Shark and was tasked to find the remaining 99 Number cards.

The adventure and danger was only beginning. After winning several Number cards, Yuma had a chance encounter with Kite Tenjo, a Duelist who wields the power to take the souls of those who wielded Number cards using his Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, all in a fiendish deal to help his ill younger brother, Hart, as an order from his devious scientist father, Dr. Faker. Thrown in the mix was Shark, the same bully who turned into a lone wolf fighting for his twin sister, Rio after she was caught in an accident staged by Vetrix, the mutated, revenge-bent child form of Byron Arclight. Using his three sons, Trey, Quattro and Quinton, and the power of their Crests, they were close to meeting the goal of destroying Faker by hurting those closest to him until Yuma interfered for ruining his plans to destroy the scientist once and for all. And that all happened at the World Duel Carnival, a Dueling tournament gathering Duelists from around the world as a cover to collect the remaining Number cards.

However, in a shocking turn of events at the WDC Finals, Dr. Faker revealed his plan to destroy the Astral World: steal the Number cards from Yuma, Astral, and Kite and use their energies to create a Sphere Field in a cannon with enough power to obliterate the Astral World. With that, Yuma, Shark and Kite all stood up to Dr. Faker, who also revealed his intentions involving the destruction of Astral World being part of a deal from an emissary from Barian World. Should Astral World be destroyed, the Barian emissary would cure Hart's illness. As soon as Faker changed his ways, the Barian, Vector took control of Faker's body and attempted to destroy Astral World on his own. Of course, the plan would've worked if the combined powers of Yuma and Astral hadn't been discovered and used. With assistance from Kite and Shark, Yuma and Astral, forming the character ZEXAL, defeated the Barian and he disappeared, but not before the other Barian Emperors decided to take action themselves.

After the encounter with Vector, Yuma, Astral, Kite and Shark, along with his sister, Rio, discovered their roles in the escalating Interdimensional War. After surviving the onslaught of the Barian Emperors, including the revived Vector becoming the host for Don Thousand, Yuma and Astral were tasked to find the Numeron Code and gather the seven Mythirian Numbers that helped seal Don Thousand away; Kite had to retrieve the dragon that created the Numeron Code while battling Mizar, the Barian Emperor who wielded another Galaxy-Eyes, one whose powers rivaled those of Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon; and Shark and Rio discovered a most horrible truth: They were the two missing Barian Emperors, Rio once named Marin and Shark first known as Nash, the leader of the Barian Emperors. As the events of the war rolled out, Yuma and Nash discovered that Don Thousand had tricked them when he admitted he took the wielders of the Mythirian Numbers and staged their downfall, thus helping to not only regain his power, but to finally execute his plan to merge Barian World and Earth with the intent of causing further destruction to Astral World. Yuma, Astral and Nash were forced to Duel against Don Thousand, leading to a long, hard-fought Duel against the power of the Numeron cards created by Don Thousand. With Kite's spirit by Yuma and Shark's side, Don Thousand was defeated for good, but not before Nash challenged Yuma and Astral to one final Duel for the sake of which world would survive.

Neither Nash nor Yuma and Astral backed down from the intensified Duel in a rift between the Barian World and Earth. Despite Nash having the upper hand against Yuma and Astral, the former was defeated, the last of the Barian Emperors disappearing from the worlds, as his other six fellow Emperors had already fallen from the war. This victory led to Astral finally claiming the Numeron Code, fulfilling his mission to obliterate the Barian World. But Yuma opposed this and challenged Astral to a Duel for the fate of Barian World, the world where Chaos was born and the memories of the two ever having their adventures. Using all of the forms of Utopia, Astral got the upper hand in the Duel, but Yuma countered by creating his own Number card, confirming that Yuma was one half of Astral lost in the battle against Don Thousand. Before Yuma used his own Number card to win the Duel, Astral revealed the Door Yuma saw in his dreams, the same Door that brought Yuma and Astral together. Yuma realized the one thing precious to him that he would lose: his best friend, Astral. With no other choice, Yuma destroyed the Door, won the Duel against Astral, and the two said their goodbyes before Astral disappeared into the Numeron Code.

After the Duel, things returned to normal. Yuma used the Numeron Code to revive Yuma's fallen friends, his parents from the Astral World and the Seven Barian Emperors, now in human form and attending Yuma's school. The last that anyone saw of Yuma, his friends and Astral was when they went to Astral World to answer to a growing crisis.

This leads us to this evening, when Yuma was standing in the middle of Heartland Pier, staring at the magnificent sunset with a sad and forlorn look on his face. He gripped the Key hanging from his neck, sighing slightly as he reminisced all the times he shared with Astral, both good and bad. Yuma wasn't sure if Astral felt what he felt at the moment, but he hoped he did. He hoped that Astral would somehow remember the day they first met, when their fates were met in one single Duel at the Heartland Square.

"Four months." Yuma muttered up to the sky. He reached to his chest and held his key in the palm of his hand, a saddened smile spreading to his cheeks. "I can't believe it has been four months since the war against Barian World and Astral World. Sure our friends fell trying to help us, but it was worth the sacrifice for it was our victory against that creep Don Thousand that was the real accomplishment."

"But still, if I hadn't got the courage to stand up to Shark and Duel him that day, I never would've met you and began our journey for the Number cards." Yuma said recapping the event that transpired when Yuma and Astral first met. "It'd do you a whole world of good if my friends and I could see you again. You're probably thinking the same thing I'm thinking right now, aren't you?" Yuma smirked. "Of course you are. You want to know why? It's because we're friends, and we'll always be there by each other's side, no matter how far apart we are."

"I know you couldn't hear what my heart is saying now, but if you can, then I can bet you know just where I'm about to stop first thing tomorrow. We know that place very well. I sure hope you're getting what I'm saying, because if you don't, I might have to Duel you and win again!"

Yuma then gripped the Key hanging from his neck and smiled at the sky. "Astral, you may be living in Astral World about a billion miles away from here, but I know deep down you know how happy you are about what happened four months ago. The question is, do you feel the same way I feel?"

Yuma looked down to the Key cradled in the wrinkles of his palm.

"I hope you do, Astral. I hope you do."

* * *

Astral World, one of two interdimensional worlds located in a dimension outside of the Human World, the other being the Barian World, which had merged with Astral World when one of its well-known envoys used the power of the Numeron Code. To travel to the Astral World, one would require to "Rank-Up" spiritually, unless they want to become a lost soul trapped in a darker place and/or an interdimensional transporter to travel through. The Astral World itself resembled a bright, radiant galaxy with many luminescent blue planets revolving around the center of the world, where many forms of light energy gathered in one spot. Inside that center was a city consisting of spire towers with many lit lights, a shoreline with an ocean reaching down as deep as the Marina Trench. Floating dust motes of light floated up from the ground and the towers to the sky, only to be seen again in the great beyond.

It was towards the great beyond that Astral looked as he floated above the balcony of the tallest tower in Astral World. He stared with his signature stoic face and crossed his arms, calm on the outside but deep in thought on the inside. A deep feeling in his translucent gut somewhere reminded Astral of something very important, and he was right. Astral remembered what the next day held for him. It was four months ago on that day when Barian World waged war against Astral World.

More importantly, it was the day two of Yuma's friends turned against him.

Every memory of Astral and Yuma's teamwork against Don Thousand and mind-controlled Barian Emperors flashed through his head like a montage, from the Emperors' first arrival in the Human World, to the Duels they faced alongside their friends, to their final encounters against Don Thousand and Nash.

Astral had protected his home world from any ongoing evil ever since then, even employing the help of Yuma and his friends. Astral World seemed so much peaceful these last few days, no presence of evil, no dark forces at work, just a bright new world where the power of Chaos restored everyone and everything to full health. Astral wondered what it was he would do next.

"Astral."

The spirit turned to a teal-colored muscular humanoid, the governor of Astral World named Eliphas, with long flowing blond hair and gold-plated sleeveless armor with sapphires on his pouldrons, faulds and blue-and-yellow fingerless gloves. His dichromatic eyes each were colored beige and light green and he wore a gold half-helmet on his face, the centerpiece and two points colored sapphire. A white cape hung down from the humanoid governor's back as he approached Astral with a stoic face of his own. "You have been strangely quiet lately." Eliphas stated. "Care to explain what is wrong?"

Astral shook his head slowly. " _Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking about my time in the Human World, when I was sent to search for the Numbers._ "

"Yes, I remember." Eliphas said in agreement. "You were sent there to fulfill your mission for the Astral World. Just what is it about it that has you thinking?"

" _What I was thinking about, Eliphas, was also how I knew Yuma as a good friend of mine."_ Astral answered. " _It has been four months since the war and I have been having this deep feeling in my heart that I have to go back to the Human World, where I may reunite with Yuma and go for another adventure. But a part of me is urging to remain here and look after my home to ward off any possible evil that might come forth from the cosmos._ "

Eliphas laid his blue-gloved hand on Astral's shoulder, surprising the latter. "Then you may go if you wish." He offered. "Since Yuma Tsukumo means that much to you, then you may go and see him again. I will keep watch over Astral World while you are gone, but I will let you know right away when I hear of another looming threat to this realm."

" _You would let me go back to the Human World like that?_ " Astral asked in shock. " _But you couldn't possibly mean it?"_

"Yes, Astral. I am giving you your next mission, Astral: Go and visit Yuma Tsukumo until further notice." The Will of Astral World smiled. "Your mission of gathering all of the Numbers and achieving the Numeron Code has been long since completed, Astral. You are a free denizen of Astral World and you may go do whatever it is that pleases you the most."

" _What pleases me the most…?_ " Astral parroted quietly. A smile spread across his face as he gave the godhead a formal salute. " _Right. I will not fail you with this mission, Eliphas."_ With much said, Astral took off flying into the dark blue sky, towards the cosmic atmosphere over the looming towers of Astral World until they disappeared through the stardust clouds. He passed through the field of illuminating blue planets and out of the Astral World, traveling down a portal in the sky where it connected to the Overlay Network. Astral smiled as he traveled down the long portal to the Human World.

Finally, after spending so long separated by a fulfilled mission, Astral was finally going to meet up with his oldest and best friend, Yuma Tsukumo.

He had a gut feeling where it was that Yuma was going to stop first.

* * *

"So explain to me _why_ you're dragging me out all the way to the harbor?"

Yuma was walking towards the Heartland Pier, his hands held behind his head like he was relaxing while he relaxed. Walking slightly behind and to the right side of him was Yuma's closest friend, Tori Meadows. She had green hair, teal bangs curling in a wide arc to the right side of her face, tied up in a small bun with a red ribbon on the left side of her head. Of the many outfits Tori wore, she wore the same dress during the Interdimensional War. She wore a white shirt with a yellow decal, a thigh-length pink skirt held up by a dark raspberry belt. Black socks reached up to her knees as they were worn in a pair of white shoes. Tori stuck by Yuma's side from the first day they met each other, cheering him on in his Duels, even if it was subconsciously.

Yuma rubbed his nose with his finger, smirking as he looked back to Tori. "I told you, Tori. I'm just going around to visit the spots where Astral and I Dueled together against the Seven Emperors." Yuma said. "You remember our encounters against them, right?"

Tori touched her lip as she recalled watching Yuma's first encounter against one of the Seven Emperors, Alito. "Oh, yeah, now I remember. The first Emperor you faced was Alito."

"Yeah, he was a pretty fun guy until he showed his true colors." Yuma agreed. Tori then looked from the corner of her eye and noticed two individuals standing outside the set where Yuma and the TV star Nelson Andrews, known by his alter-ego The Sparrow Dueled.

"Speaking of true colors, is that who I think it is over there?" Tori asked, pointing to the two.

Yuma looks to the direction where Tori pointed and gasped. Standing near the edge of the pier were two of Yuma's friends, one of them being his longtime Dueling rival, the other being a supporting friend. Instantly, Yuma recognized the first individual as Shark, standing coolly with his hand placed on his hip. Today, he wore a black shirt, black pants held by a belt and a silver ring on his right ring finger. His shoes were white with green gems and he wore a dark purple jacket with teal cuffs and decorated with green gems as well. His stern, stoic face brought fear to any Duelist foolish enough to oppose him or challenge his sister.

Standing to his left was his younger twin sister, a girl with curly dark blue hair and light blue bangs hanging down her face. She wore a white sleeveless jacket with a dark blue border on the collar hanging down to her chest, tied with red ribbons. Underneath she wore a pink long-sleeve shirt bordered with dark purple lines, the same color on the cuffs with green gems. She wore a long white skirt with tall black stockings reaching above her knees and white high-heeled shoes. She was known in her previous life as Marin, the Ice Queen that sent chills down the spine of her opponents and a force to be reckoned with when facing against her or with her brother. Now, in her current life, she was now Rio Kastle, a human girl sticking with her brother until their last days on Earth.

"Hey!" Shark and Rio both turned to Yuma, the latter happy to see them while Tori was happy to see Rio again while she waved her arms. With a small chuckle, Yuma ran over to the two, waving while doing so as Tori followed him. "Hey, guys! Didn't expect to see you out here!" Yuma shouted before stopping before his friends to crouch, placing his hands on his knees for support as he gasped for breath. "So… what are you guys… doing here?"

"What does it look like? I'm here for the same reason you came here, Yuma." Shark said keeping his stern demeanor intact. "I'm just here to check out the spots where the Barian Emperors and I battled your friends. Did you honestly think I'd forget the day and place that my memories as a Barian Emperor came back and I turned against you?"

"Well, no… not really." Yuma muttered.

"That's what I thought." Shark replied.

"Yeah. Reginald told me about the times he and you used to Duel with and against each other all over Heartland City." Rio explained to Yuma. "I was surprised to hear how you two battled like longtime rivals in a boxing ring."

"That reminds me, I asked the other Emperors if they wanted to come, but they told me they were busy." Shark told them. Tori then noticed a dark flying silhouette gliding right over them in the bright sunlight.

"Guys, look up there!" Tori said as the other three shifted their attention to the silhouette, which made a sharp right turn and made a dive towards them.

"Hang on a minute. Is that…?" Yuma wondered as he noticed the silhouette take the shape of a human, with mechanical wings to help him fly over the buildings of Heartland City.

The wings soon detached themselves from the human, revealing a small robotic shape that sheathed its gliding wings into short, stubby crane claws. The human performed a nosedive towards the ground before he acrobatically flipped himself in midair, positioning himself to land on his feet. The person landed on his boots and caught the fall with his hand. The little robot that detached itself from its owner crashed with a pained grunt. The person rose up from his knees, surprising the quartet, for they knew well who he was and what his profession used to be.

The person was none other than Yuma's main Dueling rival, the boy who sported curled up blond hair and dark green spikes at the front. He wore a partially zipped-up black jacket with a red interior showing from the inside of his collar and the back of his jacket, both sides bordered in yellow. Blue markings made the jacket design for his shoulders, wrists and chest, spanning down to his yellow-bordered black belt with grey orbs in the center, held up in a big brace for a buckle, holding two Deck boxes at his side. He wore black pants that reached to his black-and-blue boots lined with yellow, separated by thick, gold layers shaped like diamonds. The rival was known as Kite Tenjo, the Number Hunter who stole the souls of those who wielded Number cards. His gaze alone was cold enough to petrify any Duelist stupid enough to go against him or wield a Number, but since his younger brother and his father were freed from the Barians' power, he became quite humble and caring. Though, his scowling look came back as he combed his hair with his hand and sighed.

Next to Kite was his robotic, stuttering assistant named Orbital 7, a living machine and a proud father of two little Litter Bot children, all thanks to Yuma's adopted Litter Bot named Lilly. He was mostly beige armor over black circuitry, a crimson quotation mark on his front armor with two bendable arms with three claws at each end. He had two mushroom-shaped antennae, each with a pale orange center and a face with two different-sized red lenses and a panel acting as the mouth. Powered by the Barian Crystal, Orbital 7 was an artificial intelligence with six other fellow Orbitals, three of which were known from the group, two of them merely programmed as a security system against any intruders.

Yuma gasped in excitement as he ran over to Kite with Shark and the girls following close behind. "Hey, Kite! Long time no see!" Yuma shouted, grabbing his rival's attention before he approached him. "What brings you here? You came to visit the spots the Barians fought?"

"On the contrary, Yuma, I came here not to take a stroll down Memory Lane, but for research." Kite remarked as he turned his back to Yuma, tilting his head slightly upwards and spoke in a voice as plain and tolerant as his face. "My father and I were following strange distortions all over Heartland City and I need a favor from you." Kite turned his head so he would meet Yuma with a sideways glance. "Yuma, I need you to Duel me, here and now!"

"A Duel? You want to Duel me as part of your research?" Yuma asked in surprise at the Photon Duelist's request.

"Yes, and in order to gain some data on the power of your Shining Draw, I need Astral to be present. So where is he?" Kite asked him.

The Photon Duelist's answer came as a strange light appeared in the sky. The light glowed with a mix of light blue and white, nearly blinding everyone who saw the strange phenomenon, specifically, those who could actually see the phenomenon. Yuma and the others gasped with surprise and excitement as the shining light touched down to the ground, dimming to reveal a human-like figure within. The figure was a familiar humanoid envoy of Astral World floating over the ground, his arms crossed, his face calm and his eyes staring out to those witnessing his arrival. Yuma gasped happily before he ran up to his old friend with a big smile plastered on his face. Astral responds with a smile of his own.

"Astral!" Yuma shouted excitedly. "You're back! You don't know how much I missed you!"

" _I should say the same about you, Yuma._ " Astral greeted. The envoy looks around and sees Shark, Rio, Tori and Kite. " _And it is nice to see you all again, everyone._ "

Yuma and Astral's reunion were interrupted by the sound of black boots as Kite walked up to them. "Good. Now that Astral has made his unexpected entrance, let's get down to business, shall we?" Kite informed.

"Oh, right. Our Duel." Yuma said in realization. "But isn't that a bit too soon? Astral has just arrived."

"Actually, the timing couldn't be any more perfect." Kite pointed his finger at Yuma and Astral, a righteous gleam in his silvery blue-grey eyes as he narrowed them. "Yuma. Astral. I challenge you both to a Duel to see and observe your strength and your abilities. It will not matter who wins or loses, as long as I obtain the results I need."

" _A Duel to test out our abilities?"_ Astral thought aloud. " _Interesting. Not five minutes since my arrival here and already we are challenged to a Duel._ "

"That's not a problem, is it?" Yuma asked.

Astral smirked. " _No, not at all._ "

Yuma returned with a smile of his own as he reached for his Duel Pad. "If Astral's okay with it, then, so am I!" he replied to Kite. "Kite, we're more than happy to accept your challenge! Now, let's throw down! Duel Disk, go!" Yuma threw his Duel Pad into the air, which expanded in size so it would attach automatically onto his left arm.

Kite cracked a grin. "Believe me, Yuma, the only person here who's about to be thrown down… will be you! Go, Photon Transformation!" Upon voice command, the nanorobotics weaved into Kite's black suit glowed, turning his suit into a bright white color as it traveled from his jacket collar down to his boots. Soon, Kite was in his Photon Transformation Dueling Mode, his attire being white where the black threads used to be.

A concealed compartment in Orbital 7's head opened and launched a spinning purple crescent moon into the air, eventually coming into contact with Kite's left arm, onto a crystal mounted onto his wrist. The crescent moon expanded into a white, blue-tipped Duel Disk with a purple interior and five visible Monster Card Zones while the back contained two red marks, a blue center and a teal crystal.

Yuma attached his yellow-and-white Duel Gazer over his left eye, the lens a light green hue as it collected the information on its surroundings. "Duel Gazer, let's roll!"

A purple tattoo materialized over Kite's left eye, resembling the marks of a Duel Gazer, which turned its blue-grey iris red. Another advantage of having the power of Photon Transformation injected into his bloodstream.

Shark, Rio and Tori all put their respective Duel Gazers over their left eyes as the matrix and the data developed the Augmented Reality version of their world. Multiple screens popped out of nowhere, spelling out the usual "AR image standby" message as the bystanders and passersby vanished from the view, leaving Yuma, Shark, Kite, the girls, Orbital 7 and Astral left visible. " _Augmented Reality vision link established._ " The feminine AI voice announced as Yuma and Kite both drew their starting five cards in their hands.

Orbital 7 was the first among the cheerleaders in the sidelines to raise his voice and cheer on and support his creator. "D-D-Do your best, Ma-Ma-Master Kite!" he shouted. "Show that Dueling w-w-weakling who's the Boss around he-he-here!"

Rio, Shark and Tori all stood on the sidelines in suspenseful silence, waiting for the two biggest Dueling rivals to make the first move. Out of curiosity, Rio turned to Shark. "Hey, Reginald, you said these two are supposed to be like complete opposites of each other, right?" she asked. "Who do you think should win this Duel?"

"Who knows?" Shark replied. "The last time Yuma and Kite battled it out, Kite walked out as a winner, but this Duel is completely different. This is a Duel where who wins or not won't matter, because it's all just one big experiment. But after seeing how strong Yuma, Astral and Kite had become after all this time, this Duel should be a close match.

Tori simply stood on the sidelines, her hand placed ceremoniously at her chest. A smile replaced her worried frown as she raised her arm into the air and called out to her childhood friend. "Do your best, Yuma! Show Kite how strong you've become!"

"Heh, that's what I'm aiming to do!" Yuma shouted. "Alright, Kite! Give me all you've got!"

"I intend to!" Kite replied with a toothy grin.

"LET'S DUEL!"

* * *

Some turns have passed and Yuma is already at a disadvantage as Kite is shifting around his strategies against Yuma's offense and defense. Yuma's field currently contained four face-down Spell/Trap cards and two Rock-Type Gogogo monsters. The first was Gogogo Golem, a tan, egg-shaped golem with oversized rock hands and a red glowing eye, sporting teal blue armor on its legs, arms and on top of its head. The golem was crouched in Defense Mode with its arms crossed, a good defensive tactic since it has the effect of surviving an attack once while it was in the same position (4/1800/1500)

The other one was called Gogogo Giant, a brown armored colossus with one glowing yellow eye, standing taller than its fellow mate. It had round, brown turrets for its oversized shoulders, its arms and its legs, a head resembling a cobra's hood and a design that was almost as if it was adapted from ancient Mayan ruins. It remained in Defense Mode since it used its effect of reviving Gogogo Golem from the Graveyard (4/2000/0)

Though Yuma and Astral retained their defensive strategy against Kite's assault, both of them expected, but not prepared, for whatever their main Dueling rival had in store. Kite had five cards in his hand and three face-down cards on his Spell/Trap Zone, which could prove to be fatal for Yuma's strategy as the Photon Duelist always thought ahead of his situation. What intimidated them the most was Kite's devious smile, the very same smile he grew during his days hunting Numbers, a good tactic to bring his opponents great unease. Combined with his Dueling skills, this tactic made Kite the most dangerous, yet strategic Duelist Yuma has ever faced. What Kite had in store would push Yuma and Astral into a corner, all for the sake of research.

Shark, Rio, Tori and Orbital 7 stood by in a mixture of amazement and stoicism as Yuma stood his ground against Kite's power. Everyone knew the two were pretty powerful Duelists and only the victor would come out in a close shave. Tori kept her hand at her heart, watching with wonder, questioning herself how Yuma would finally fight back against Kite.

Her answer came as Kite put his fingers on the top card.

"It's my move, Yuma! I draw!"

(Turn ?: Kite)

"I'll start by Summoning out Photon Thrasher!" Kite shouted. "Since my field has no monsters, I can automatically summon him from my hand!"

The screen faded to black. Then several glowing cut marks slashed across the black, which shattered to reveal an armored humanoid Warrior, the body made entirely out of pure blue light while the armor it wore on its body was blue with an orange "X" on the chest. It carried a large sword on its unarmed right arm, save for the orange fingers on its hand while the left arm was equipped with armor, the shoulder plate having an illuminating orb inside. Photon Thrasher wore a silver helmet with a glowing red eye inside as it pointed its sword at Yuma (4/2100/0).

"Next, I Summon Photon Crusher!" Kite declared. A hulking figure, also made out of pure light appeared. It wore green teal armor and golden plates at its chest and its left arm, the latter carrying a twin pillar-like club in its hand. The Warrior wore a silver helmet with a glowing red eye, like Photon Thrasher inside. Photon Crusher spun its heavy weapon in its hand like a baton, then stood in a battle ready pose (4/2000/0).

"Uh-oh. This doesn't look good!" Yuma commented.

" _I agree."_ Astral said. " _Those monsters are strong enough for Kite to Summon his strongest monster. I have a feeling we're in hot water._ "

"With Photon Thrasher and Photon Crusher out on the field, I can now Overlay my two Level 4 monsters!" Kite declared as his two Photon monsters turned yellow and shot up into the sky, surprising Yuma, Astral and everybody else. A red portal appeared on the ground, sucking the lights into its never-ending emptiness. "With these two monsters, I now build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon, Starliege Lord Galaxion!"

The red portal exploded, revealing its Xyz Monster, a LIGHT-Attribute Warrior sporting pure white armor on its chest, legs, thighs and shoulders, even including metallic wings trailing from the shoulder armor. The armor on Galaxion's chest had yellow lights seen from inside and gold markings. The Warrior's under armor was dark blue and the helmet had three gold spikes protruding from each side with blue glass concealing its face. Galaxion swung its illuminatingly deadly twin swords as it aimed its weapons at Yuma's Gogogo monsters ( **4** /2000/2100).

" _This is most unexpected. Kite had what he needed to summon his strongest monster, and yet he chose to bring out his Xyz Monster._ " Astral stated with subtle commentary. " _What could he be planning?_ "

"Well, whatever it is, I can already tell it isn't good." Yuma replied.

"And it's about to get a lot worse!" Kite shouted. "I activate Galaxion's special ability!"

"That can't be good!" Yuma squawked.

"Yeah, for you! By using Overlay Units depending on the number I use, I can Summon my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from my hand or my Deck!" Kite explained. "With one Overlay Unit, I can call it out from my hand, but by using both, I can Summon it from my Deck! And I think I'll use both to call out Galaxy-Eyes from my Deck!"

The two yellow orbs revolving around Galaxion traveled their way into the Warrior's twin swords as a red mechanical cross with a glowing jewel in the center. Kite grabbed one part of the red cross and threw it upwards into the sky as it began to spin, his white garbs glowing. "Here comes the monster more savage than a supernova! With the cataclysmic force of ten black holes put together! A cosmic scourge that vaporizes anything in its path: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

The jewel in the spinning cross gathered up light which was absorbed into the jewel. Then, in one instant moment and panning out from a galaxy, came a draconic creature whose body and wings were made entirely out of photon light. Dark indigo armor on its head, nape, torso, shoulders, claws, tail and thighs held together the dragon's body while bits of red framed the wings and the jewels on its forehead, chest and tail. The dragon let out a mighty screech as it spread its wings outwards before the light dimmed out into the darkness, the only light on its body being the veins (8/3000/2000).

Yuma gasped with wonder as he stared down Kite's strongest monster. "Whoa! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! It looks as strong as I remember!"

"Then maybe this will make your trip down Memory Lane a lot more memorable! Go, Galaxion, attack his Gogogo Giant!" Upon its owner's voice command, Starliege Lord Galaxion swung its twin swords back and brought them down on the gigantic rock figure.

"I was hoping you'd try that!" Yuma smirked. "I activate the Trap Battle Break! Now unless you show me a monster in your hand, your Galaxion is destroyed and the battle ends immediately!" The swords struck an intangible barrier around Gogogo Giant, crackling as it made contact.

"Tsk! Typical Yuma." Kite replied. "It'll take more than a Trap Card to take me down! Go, Trap Jammer! Now your trap is negated and destroyed since you used it during the Battle Phase!" The barrier starts to crack and shatter as the swords broke through and sliced the rock figure, causing it to explode as Yuma instinctively shielded his face from the force of the attack.

"Now, Galaxy-Eyes! Attack that Gogogo Golem with Photon Stream of Destruction!" the dark indigo-armored light dragon charged a great stream of light from its maw towards the golem, who raised its large palms, ready to intercept the attack.

"You do realize that since my Gogogo Golem is in Defense Mode, it can't be destroyed in a battle once per turn." Yuma declared as the Dragon's breath neared its target.

"That's what I prepared for as well. I activate my other two face-down cards: Galaxy Burst and Photon Trident!" Kite declared as the two face-down cards flipped face-up, surprising the Dueling duo. "First, by cutting my Photon Dragon's attack points by half, Galaxy Burst negates the effects of up to two of your face-up cards, like your Golem!" Gogogo Golem felt a painful surge through its rocky body as its protective effect is negated as Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's Attack Points were reduced by half (8/3000→1500/2000).

"But now your dragon's Attack Points are the same as my Golem's Defense Points." Yuma pointed out. "How will you beat my Golem?"

"That's what Photon Trident is for." Kite answered. "It not only gives my Photon Dragon an extra 700 Attack Points, but should it attack a monster in Defense Mode with lower Defense Points, you take the difference as damage!"

"Say what!?" Yuma squawked as a three-pronged trident materialized, consisting of an iron staff, a golden head and photon energy making an excellent substitute for the prongs. The dragon fired the light stream at Gogogo Golem as the trident shot towards it like an arrow, itself becoming a light blue stream fusing with the light stream.

" _Not only did Kite stop our defensive tactic, he made his monster strong enough to destroy our only monster and deal damage!"_ Astral gasped as the ATK of the Dragon increased by 700 (8/1500→2200/2000).

"Go, Photon Stream of Destruction!" Kite commanded as the stream struck Gogogo Golem dead center and disintegrated it. The light trident pierced through the stone body as it exploded and shot directly at Yuma and Astral. Yuma screamed as the light and the shockwaves that followed from the explosion knocked him and Astral back on the ground, causing him to lose 700 Life Points. Yuma and Astral slowly got up, banged up and bruised from the explosion's force.

"Now for Photon Trident's second effect! When you take Battle Damage from the effect, one of your Spell or Trap cards is destroyed!" Kite pointed to the card on his left, which was Yuma's Trap Card. Yuma and Astral gasped in horror as the same trident of light pierced through the face-down Trap Card, the only other card that can help them survive another turn of Kite's Beatdown strategy.

"Ah! No way! I was saving that one for later!" Yuma screamed in disappointment.

"All's fair in love and Dueling, Yuma!" Kite replied.

" _Yuma!_ _Use the card Kite didn't destroy!_ " Astral commanded.

"What other card?" Yuma questioned as he looked at the face-down card that wasn't destroyed. "I was sure I had no other…" Before he finished his sentence, that's when it hit him. "Oh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me! I activate the Trap Guard Go! Thank you, Kite, for destroying the wrong card!"

"What?!"

"Now that you destroyed my Golem, I can bring it back in Defense Mode!" Yuma explained as a dark purple portal appeared on the ground. From that portal came the same rock golem Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon had destroyed as it kneeled in a defensive stance (4/1800/1500).

"So what if you brought that pile of rocks back? I destroyed it once, I'll do it again!" Kite sneered.

"I'm not finished." Yuma interjected, making Kite's expression change into one of shock. "My Trap Card lets me Summon up to two Gagaga, Gogogo and/or Dododo monsters from my hand in Defense Mode! And who better to call out than my Gagaga Magician!" With a slap of the card, Gagaga Magician, one of his prized monsters appeared. The white-haired Spellcaster sported black modern clothing underneath his black-with-orange-borderline tunic with a gold plate on his waist, etched with eight dots connected by the points of two diamonds held in a chain reaching around his shoulders and body and making its way down his right leg. Gagaga Magician also wore copper plating on its shoulders, right knee and lower leg and jutting up from behind his concealed head, a pointed cap, mask and crimson scarf helping to hide his face. Bandages were wrapped around the Spellcaster's hands as it kneeled in a defensive stance beside Gogogo Golem (4/1500/1000).

"I'm impressed." Kite commented with a smirk. "Not only did you bring back your main defender, but you also brought out another monster so that you can Xyz Summon on your next turn."

"Heh. You read my move like a map, Kite." Yuma replied.

"Well, let's see if you can read mine! I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Kite challenged as a face-down card materialized in his Spell/Trap Zone. As soon as he did, Galaxy-Eyes' strength returned to normal (8/2200→3000/2000)

"I guess we're up then, old buddy." Yuma said, glancing over to his spectral friend with a smile. "You ready for this?"

" _I have been waiting a long time to do this, Yuma._ " Astral replied, grinning back.

"Alright! Then let's win this Duel together!" Yuma raised his arm as high as he could reach.

" _And show him what true teamwork is all about!_ " Astral raised his hand together with Yuma's. Just as he did, a bright yellow light flashed in the hands of Yuma and Astral. Shark, Rio, Tori and Orbital 7 stood by with amazement while Kite narrowed his eyes; this was exactly what he was expecting to happen.

"Orbital, are you recording this phenomenon right now?"

"E-E-Every second of it, sir, since before the Duel began! Should I keep recording?"

"Yes. This is exactly what I need for my research."

(Turn ?: Yuma)

Yuma placed his hand on the top card of his Deck, the card glowing in response. "Here goes! I draw!" As Yuma declared his action, a trail of light streamed from the card as he drew it. Everyone waited in anticipation as Yuma inspected the card, a big grin spreading across his face.

Yuma's friends and rival gasped as they realized what Astral were about to do, since they have two Level 4 monsters on the field. This was the reason why Yuma didn't Xyz Summon with Gogogo Giant earlier. "Astral, do you have the card we need to win this Duel?"

" _Yes, Yuma._ " Astral replied. " _I would never leave Astral World without it."_

"Then let's bring him out to join the party! I Overlay Level 4 Gagaga Magician and Gogogo Golem!" As he announced his move, The DARK Spellcaster turned into a dark purple light and the EARTH Rock monster turned into an orange light, both shooting upwards into the sky. A galactic portal appeared into the ground in Yuma's field, which attracted the lights that were previously Yuma's monsters. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"

The portal exploded as Yuma and Astral declared their move.

"I Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!/ _I Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!"_

As the two summoned their signature monster, a red "39" appeared, followed by a white-and-yellow sealed construct, resembling a spear wrapped in a gold spiral, covered by white metallic wings held by a yellow frame with a glowing blue orb in the center. The wings unfurled themselves. A black glove, cuffed by yellow armor with a white muscular arm spread out. The yellow shoulder plate armor unfolded themselves and attached to the shoulder. Finally, the face on the white head of the forming monster, concealed in a yellow face shield, revealed itself from behind the opening facial section of the helmet, being black with red eyes.

Once the unsealing was complete, the Number Monster had appeared, a white-clothed Warrior with yellow armor on its abdomen, wrists, front thighs, knees and ankles, the chest area having a round, yellow piece with a light green jewel inside. Twin swords were sheathed at its sides in yellow-and-black scabbards. The white shoulder plates, the left one marked with the red "39", were each equipped with metallic white wings. Utopia crossed its arms and stood on Yuma's field, staring down its draconic rival as two yellow orbs orbited around the Warrior ( **4** /2500/2000).

"Hey, Utopia. You're finally here." Yuma said as his eyes glimmered at his signature monster. "Welcome back to the winning team, big guy."

Utopia looked down at Yuma, its faceless expression showing a desire to battle alongside its owner once again. Kite's low chuckle attracted the attention of Yuma and Astral as they saw their Dueling rival facing down against their Number card. "I got to say, that's certainly a sight for sore eyes." Kite stated. "But I certainly hope you found a way around my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. As you may recall, Galaxy-Eyes can banish any monster it battles and should the opposing monster happens to be an Xyz Monster, then it gains 500 Attack Points for every Overlay Unit it sends to the Graveyard. Face it, Yuma and Astral, unless you have a plan, your defeat in this Duel is certain."

" _We do have a plan."_ Astral replied. " _And now is the time to put it into action."_

"Well, I want to see this plan of yours up close and personal." Kite challenged.

"Be careful what you wish for, Kite!" Yuma snapped. "It might come back to bite you! I equip Utopia with the Equip Spell, Utopia Sword! This card gives my monster 800 Attack Points!" A silver sword with a white wing charm appeared as Utopia takes hold of the sword, increasing its power ( **4** /2500→3300/2000).

"Big deal! You still didn't figure out how to stop Galaxy-Eyes' ability!" Kite reminded them.

"Actually, I did!" Yuma replied, making the Photon Duelist gasp. "Go, Courageous Heart! Once I pay half of my life points, your Dragon's special abilities are negated until the end of the turn!" Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon felt a blast of lightning from the purple portal in its jewel, the same kind of lightning Gogogo Golem felt earlier as the glow of light from its body died out, indicating that its abilities are negated.

"And with that out of the way, I can slay that Dragon! Go, Utopia! Attack Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon with Rising Sun Lightsword Slash!" Acting on command, the Number unsheathed the sword it's powered up with, swung its weapon upward and flew into the air as it brought itself and the weapon down.

"That's quite a move, Yuma." Kite smirked. "Too bad it won't help you! I activate the Trap Card Lumenize! This card stops your attack cold and a LIGHT Monster on my field gains Attack Points equal to your monster's Attack Points until the end of my next turn!" The sword Utopia brought down disappeared and Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon glowed with a brilliant yellow aura, increasing its strength immensely (8/3000→6300/2000).

" _Now Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon can wipe out our Life Points with one blast on his next turn._ " Astral gasped.

"It's a good thing with what I planned, there won't be a next turn!" Yuma replied. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Double or Nothing! Now Utopia can attack again, but this time, its Attack Points are doubled!"

As the Spell's effect kicked in, Number 39 was engulfed in a fiery aura as the sword reappeared in its hand and unsheathed its other sword with its other hand, spreading them out as its Attack Points were raised by twice the amount ( **4** /3300→6600/2000). Kite looked on with mild shock as Yuma's Warrior stared down at its weakened Dragon. "6600 Attack Points?!"

"That's right!" Yuma said, smiling. "And Utopia's about to put them to good use! Go, Utopia! Rising Sun Twin Blade Slash!" The two glowing swords clanged as Utopia brought them together before it jumped back into the air, bringing its swords down on its target. Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon roared as its entire body glowed back in its illuminating state, gathering a great orb of light in its sharp-toothed mouth.

"So that's the way you're going to play, huh? Well, two can play at that game!" Kite growled before thrusting his hand to command his beast. "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! Push back the attack with Photon Stream of Destruction!" A great stream of light shot out of the Dragon's mouth towards Utopia, which was being pushed back as the Number trudged through its stream, using the swords to slice through the light. Everyone could hear the deep, masculine grunts coming from Utopia as it struggled to continue while the Dragon began to tire from breathing its relentless light.

Then, all of a sudden, at the point of the attacks' impact, another strange light began to emerge from within. Everyone looked in shock as the light grew bigger, followed by an odd, loud gale coming from the same spot. The light completely enveloped Utopia and it disappeared into its illumination, which helped it expand towards every known direction. "NO! UTOPIA!" Yuma shouted as he and Kite shielded their faces with their arms, Astral grunting whilst struggling against the wind, Shark holding Rio close to him while Tori screamed in total fright.

"Orbital! What's going on!?" Kite demanded to know.

"Ma-Master Kite! The connecting atta-attacks somehow triggered an unknown phenomenon-non-non, and everything is disappearing into the ligh-ligh-light! Cause unknow-known! Orbital stuttered fearfully.

"Disappearing?! But where is everything disappearing to?!" Shark yelled.

"I don't know!" Yuma shouted as he turned around. "But I think it's a good idea to get out of here right now!"

"For once, I'm with Yuma!" Shark yelled. "This light could spell trouble for us! Come on!"

Yuma, Shark and the girls made a break for it as the light continued to grow to the size of a two-story home. Astral floated alongside Yuma, looking back at the light to ponder the unexplained phenomenon. " _This light… this unknown power… where have I seen this before…?"_ Suddenly, it hit him. Astral's dichromatic eyes widened and he gasped, knowing too well what the light was and where everything was disappearing into. " _No! That's impossible! The legends in Astral World told of this a long time ago, but even I thought this was just a myth! This light is…!"_

The blinding light slowly reached Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Starliege Lord Galaxion, the draconic beast roaring in great pain as it too vanished into the light. Kite looked on in complete terror, completely petrified while watching his Dragon scream in complete pain before it faded into the light. "No! My Galaxy-Eyes and Galaxion are gone!" Kite cried as he became the next unfortunate victim of the light, his screams becoming mere echoes into nothingness.

"MA-MA-MASTER KITE!" Orbital 7 screamed as he reached out his mechanical arm, which was touched by the light. Orbital's pained screams became ghostly wails.

"Oh, no! Kite and Orbital disappeared as well!" Tori screamed at the sound of a loud whimper.

"Forget them and worry about that light!" Shark snapped. "That thing is gaining on us and fast!"

" _That is precisely the point!_ " Astral informed. " _Avoiding this light is close to impossible!"_

"What!? What are you talking about, Astral!?" Yuma screamed.

" _Everyone listen to me! I know what this light is! This light is a gateway to…"_

Before Astral got the chance to finish, Rio's screams and Shark's grunting were heard as the light covered them as well, nothing but phantasms in the blinding brilliance. "Shark! Rio!" Yuma yelled as he, Astral and Tori were quickly made into the light's next three victims. Their earsplitting screams were brought into silence as the light covered every block in Heartland City, making its way outwards and towards the mountains. The light swallowed the lands beyond those same mountains, then made its way overseas and to every known city in the world.

Heartland, just like its three victimized predecessors from different timelines, had become the next ones to be pulled into the emptiness of the Shadow Realm.

* * *

 **(I finish showing Peregrine the entire chapter)**

 **Peregrine: Not bad.**

 **Me: Thank you. It took me a while to get it done, but it was worth the wait for those hoping for a new chapter.**

 **Peregrine: You must have had a lot of work done.**

 **Me: That's pretty much the idea.**

 **Peregrine: Touché. Hey, do you think it's alright if I stayed here for a while, at least until Eagle gets back on his feet?**

 **Me: Well, I better talk with Eagle first, see if it's okay with him. (Yawns)**

 **Peregrine: You must be tired.**

 **Me: What do you expect? I've been working on this one for days.**

 **Peregrine: I see. Well, I better get going. Be sure to call me when Eagle gives you the answer. (Leaves)**

 **Me: Alright, see you, Peregrine. I guess this is where I stop for now. You readers may Rate/Review/Fav/Follow. Archer out!**


	6. Arc-V Era

**(Ness and Crow are playing Street Fighter 5 on the PS4)**

 **Ness: You've got nothing on me, Crow!**

 **Crow: Guess again, Psi boy!**

 **(They continue playing until the whole place shuts off unexpectedly)**

 **Crow: What the…?! What happened?!**

 **Ness: I don't know! It could be a blackout.**

 **Crow: Well, we can't finish things like this. Let's go check the breaker.**

 **Ness: Good idea.**

 **(They leave to check the circuit breaker)**

 **(Note: Chapter takes place over seven months after the finale)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 5: Arc-V Era

Xyz…

Synchro…

Fusion…

Pendulum…

These were the four dimensions that make up the universe as it is today. The Pendulum Dimension is in the center of the other three, according to a resident of the Xyz Dimension. Ever since it was formed, the Pendulum Dimension, which was known as the Standard Dimension then did not have its own unique summoning method, yet the other three are taught to the students of the Leo Institute of Dueling, owned by the Leo Corporation.

But during an exhibition Duel hosted by the Leo Institute, something unexpected happened. A bright flash of light created a brand new summoning method: Pendulum Summoning. And the one who discovered this new summoning method and brought it to the universe was a young boy named Yuya Sakaki.

Being the son of famous Dueltainer Yusho Sakaki, he always dreamed that he would one day follow in his father's footsteps and become a Dueltainer. His first obstacle was the Sledgehammer, the Duelist his father was meant to face three years ago before his disappearance. When he was backed into a corner, something happened. The pendant around Yuya's neck reacted and created the Pendulum Monsters that exists today. With the newly evolved Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, he defeated the Sledgehammer in a single turn.

" _Everything is set now, Odd-Eyes! Let's give the Sledgehammer a blazing send-off! Spiral Flame Strike!"_

" _Since Battleguard King is a Level 5 or above monster, Odd-Eyes' special ability deals double the damage! That's a wrap!"_

" _AAAGHHHH!"_

With his new power of Pendulum Summoning, he defeated enough opponents to earn a spot in the Arc League Championship, a tournament held by the Leo Institute and its CEO, Declan Akaba with the intention of forming the Lancers, a team of powerful Duelists including Yuya formed to combat invading dimensions. However, the tournament was put on hold due to an invasion by the merciless Obelisk Force, a gathering of elite Duel Soldiers from Duel Academy in the Fusion Dimension. As he traveled across the dimensions, he fought off the Obelisk Force and overcame even the most powerful Duelists in those dimensions, like when he defeated Jack Atlas in the Synchro Dimension and brought peace and unity to the Synchro Dimension.

" _Now I Synchro Summon! Nirvana High Paladin!"_

" _Now I Synchro Summon! Bow down and tremble in terror before Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend! Now destroy every one of his cards! Absolute Power Inferno!"_

" _Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Attack Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend! Spiral Flame Strike!"_

And then he was sent through a wormhole to the Xyz Dimension by Jean Michel Roget's dimensional gateway, where he faced off against Duel Academy Commander-in-Chief Aster Phoenix and his deck of Destiny Heroes.

" _It's over, Yuya Sakaki! Go, Destiny Hero Dystopia! Attack with Dystopia Destruction!"_

" _Let's finish big, Brave-Eyes_ _! Now heat things up! Searing Flame Strike!"_

And once he finally arrived in the Fusion Dimension to put an end to the war and rescue his childhood friend Zuzu Boyle, there was one final obstacle in his way: his Fusion Dimension counterpart, Yuri.

" _Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Eliminate Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon now!"_ The venomous dragon roared as it extended its tail and destroyed Odd-Eyes in a single blast.

" _Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! De-thorn his Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Spiral Flame Strike!"_ The red dragon fired at Starving Venom as its orbs flared and the attack grew stronger.

" _Is this it? Have I… lost?"_ Yuri began laughing maliciously as he was defeated.

But even after defeating Yuri and ending the war, a more sinister evil arose. Ever since absorbing Yuto in the Standard Dimension, Yuya has been growing more and more sinister with each Duel, especially while his other counterparts are present. The more duels he faces using his dragon as well as Yuto's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon later on, the more violent and angry he becomes. Once he defeated Yuri, something happened. Yuya merged with Yuri, who already merged with their Synchro Dimension counterpart Yugo, and since Yuya had already absorbed Yuto, the fusion of the most violent Duelist that ever existed was complete.

Yuya Sakaki has transformed into the treacherous Zarc.

As it turns out, Yuya was one of Zarc's four reincarnations scattered across the Four Dimensions and the original owner of the four Dragons. He started out as a skilled Duelist in the United World, but after he accidentally severely injured one of his opponents, he changed. The fans wanted more aggression and violence and that's what he gave them, but the more he dueled like that, the more aggressive his dueling became. Eventually, after winning a tournament and becoming Duel champion, he summoned his four dragons to destroy anything and everything in his path. Zarc sensed that though they had caused enough destruction, they wanted more power, so he merged himself with them, forming the Supreme King Z-ARC and continued his path of destruction, blowing away anyone that opposed him.

There were many different Duelists that fought against the treachery of Supreme King Z-ARC, but the only thing that can defeat him are the natural energies of flowers, birds, wind and the moon. To use those natural energies to stop the fiendish dragon, Leo Akaba created four cards that contained those natural energies. However, they were quickly stolen by his daughter Ray, the original incarnation of Zuzu Boyle and her counterparts. Refusing to let her father sacrifice himself, she used the cards to absorb the natural energies into her body and defeat Zarc. But the result of the Duel split Ray and Zarc's physical forms as well as the United World into four and scattering them across each Dimension.

Once Zarc was reborn, he began attacking all of the dimensions, but the Lancers cannot allow this destruction to happen and they challenged the fiendish Duelist to a Duel for the fate of the Dimensions. While Z-ARC had the upper hand defeating almost every Lancer that opposed him as well as Leo Akaba, his fate was sealed when he encountered Declan's adopted sister Riley, who was the vessel for her half-sister Ray. Using Riley's body and with her assistance, Ray used the very cards she used last time to defeat Z-ARC once and for all and seal the evil within him away for good.

After the Dimensions were split a second time, pieces of Ray's spirit were gathered in the remnants of ARC-V, a machine with Fusion capabilities Leo used in order to revive Ray, the Standard Dimension is reborn as the Pendulum Dimension, and after absorbing Zarc's soul, Riley was turned into a baby and only her smile can destroy Zarc's evil soul for good. Even everyone's memories of Zuzu and everything that has happened in the war were temporarily erased. Yuya dueled against his Lancer allies, current and former alike in a type of gauntlet Duel, including Declan, in the hopes of getting Riley to smile. After Yuya's Duel against Declan was over, Riley started smiling again, which caused Ray to be reborn as Zuzu with the spirits of Yuto's childhood friend and Shay Obsidian's sister Lulu, Yugo's childhood friend Rin, and the Duel Academy soldier turned Lancer Celina within her. And Riley's laugh even purified Zarc's soul within her.

Seven months have passed since the end of Zarc's assault on the Dimensions. We find our favorite Dueltainer on his way to meet with his friends at the You Show Duel School. As he races through the streets of Paradise City on his Rollerboots given to him by a friend in the Xyz Dimension, the wind rushes through his double-layered red and green hair and the gold and red-lined white jacket he wears over his shoulders flutters in the wind like a cape. He's also garbed in an orange shirt and green pants with what looks like Deck Pockets on each leg. Around Yuya's waist was a thick brown belt with a silver buckle and around his neck is a crystal blue pendant as well as a buckled choker. Wrapped around his head is a pair of goggles with orange lens with a blue star obscuring the right lens and he wears crimson wristbands on his wrists.

After a few minutes of racing through the streets of Paradise City, Yuya manages to reach the You Show Duel School. He enters through the front door, only to be met with a hard strike to the face with a paper fan. He yells in pain.

"Late again as usual, Yuya."

Yuya looks up to the fan's wielder and sees that it was Zuzu who struck him. Her dark pink mid-back length hair is tied in pigtails with blue spherical hair clips along with lighter pink bangs framing her face. She's wearing a sleeveless white shirt with a pink pad over her shoulders and chest, a pink skirt and a white belt with a yellow buckle as well as a pair of white boots. She once had a silver bracelet with a unique design, but following her revival and the Standard Dimension's rebirth as the Pendulum Dimension, it has disappeared.

"Zuzu, you didn't have to hit me that hard." Yuya groaned, feeling the pain from that strike to the face.

"Well, I guess that's how it is then." Zuzu countered.

"Be that as it may, Yuya's right. You didn't have to hit him like that." She hears a familiar voice from behind her. She turns around and sees her father Skip Boyle, accompanied by three children named Allie, Frederick and Tate.

Skip has spiky brown/orange hair and his eyes are dark blue. He is often seen in a red/orange jumpsuit with a green trim and a red fire design. Underneath is a dark blue shirt with another fire design and a white whistle around his neck.

Allie is a young red-haired girl with golden eyes and fair skin. She wears a large multicolored headband around her head. She also wears a short cream-colored t-shirt with a pink and red-striped long shirt underneath. Her attire is also comprised of a red skirt, long black tights, brown shoes and a blue bracelet.

Frederick is a pudgy young boy with olive green hair pointed to the upper right. He wears a short-sleeve lime green sweater with a large red bear symbol on it, large orange suspenders with black-light blue straps and red clips, blue and yellow shoes with white socks and blue wristbands, each with a black stripe.

Tate is a fair skinned young boy with blue hair and shoes. He's clad in a white short-sleeve shirt under a brown vest and khaki pants. An orange watch can be seen on his left wrist.

"Yeah, Zuzu, you should be thanking him." Tate agreed. "After all, if it weren't for his and Declan's duel, Riley would never have smiled again and you would still be gone."

"I guess you're right, Tate." Zuzu sighed. "I mean, it's been seven months since I came back."

"And seven months since Zarc's soul was purified." They hear a solemn yet familiar voice from the door. They turn around and see the once face they did not expect to see at the Duel School, the CEO of the Leo Corporation.

They're met with a grey-haired teen, with the front layer of his hair lighter than the back, flicking upwards at the ends. Resting in front of his purple eyes are red-framed lenses. Black stud earrings pierce his ears. Despite his current status, he's dressed more casually, wearing a dark blue sweater, white pants that stop just above his ankles and white shoes without socks, as well as a long red scarf with the ends trailing to the small of his back. Everyone who knew the Leo Corporation knew the CEO, who is none other than the chairwoman's son…

"Declan!" Yuya gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask you for a request." Declan Akaba told them.

"Okay, what is it?" Yuya asked.

"Do you recall our previous Duel, where we had to make Riley smile or else the darkness that possessed Zarc will return?" Declan asked him.

"I'd be lying if I said I don't remember such a Duel. Why do you ask?" Yuya asked the CEO.

"I have been reviewing that Duel for the last month." Declan clarified, adjusting his glasses. "The way you communicated with the dragons you inherited intrigues me. I wish to study them further, but in order to gain data on the four dragons, I will have to ask you to Duel me once again."

"You want to face me in another Duel?" Yuya asked agape.

"That's correct. We will Duel once again, but it will not matter who is victorious, as long as I gather the data I need." Declan nods.

"I don't know about that, Declan…" Yuya felt a bit hesitant. "The last Duel I endured made me unsure if I was able to win."

"But you did. And you won with your own skill and strategies." Declan reminded him.

"Never thought I'd say this, but he's right." Zuzu agreed. "Think about it, if you hadn't won, I would still be trapped in that horrendous machine."

"Exactly my point, Zuzu. Even now, after these last seven months, you fear the dark soul that possessed you may return and take over again."

Within Yuya's mind, he hears a new voice that is familiar to him. _"He does bring up a good point, you know."_

An ephemeral spirit with his appearance appeared beside him. He shares the same face as Yuya's, only the eyes are a different color. His hair is much like a palette swap of Yuya's, black in the back with light purple in the front, but unlike Yuya's hair lying flat, his sweeps upward to the right side of his head. He wore an outfit with a punk motif, comprised of a dull green formal shirt with a dark blue neck tie, along with a black cape-like jacket with ripped sleeves and edges plus dark blue pants and black boot-like shoes. He also wears a choker and wristbands like Yuya, only his are black with silver studs. A belt with two Deck holsters on each side can be seen underneath his shirt. This is Yuya's Xyz Dimension counterpart, Yuto, who was the first to be absorbed by Yuya.

"Who asked you, Yuto?!" Yuya slightly snapped.

" _Hey, don't go snapping at Yuto. He's just agreeing on something._ " Another voice defended as the spirits of Yugo and Yuri appeared beside Yuto.

Yugo, being their Synchro Dimension counterpart, shares the same face as his counterparts, and like Yuya and Yuto, Yugo's hair is dual colored, with yellow bangs swept to the right in the front and blue in the back. He glances at Yuya with his greenish blue eyes. He's garbed in a white jacket with red borders and yellow stripes on the sleeves as well as a white jumpsuit with red, yellow and blue stripes that meet in the center in a chevron pattern, white gloves with shoulder, elbow and knee pads and white, red and grey boots.

Their Fusion Dimension counterpart, Yuri, like all of his other counterparts, has his hair two-toned, uniformly violet with pink underneath with fringes extending to frame his face and two pointing upwards. His outfit resembles that of an officer, consisting of a purple and light blue waistcoat with a pink cravat, a two-piece cape of red and purple that resembles Yuya's coat, a purple abbreviated coat with thick cuffs and gold shoulder bands with an amber-colored setting, fastened at the collar bone and light blue pants tucked into silver-tinted leather boots.

" _Besides, you doubted that you can control our dragons after you merged with us, but you were still able to summon them anyway._ " Yuri spoke up.

"Yeah, but even then, I wasn't just doubtful, I was afraid." Yuya noted. "What if the darkness that took us over once returns again?"

" _That was seven months ago, Yuya. The darkness is long gone._ " Yuto reminded him. Thinking back, Yuto was right about what he said. If Riley hadn't absorbed Z-ARC to prevent him from splitting back into the four of them, Z-ARC would eventually return and destroy the dimensions.

"I… guess you're right." Yuya admitted. He returned to reality and faced Declan.

"Declan, you bring up a good point there. Alright, I accept your request." Yuya nods in approval.

"Excellent. I am looking forward to our Duel. We will meet at the Leo Institute's Duel Field in one hour." Declan told them before leaving the You Show Duel School.

"I don't believe it. Declan just issued a challenge to you after all this time." Allie said while Zuzu stared agape.

"Yeah, but will it be worth it?" Yuya asked himself.

"Well, you won't find out just by standing around here. We better get you ready for your Duel." Skip said with a blazing confidence.

"Good idea!" Yuya agreed as he got to practicing for his Duel with Declan later.

* * *

 _One hour later…_

Yuya and all of his friends reached the Leo Institute within the hour and Yuya enters the field with the Leo Corporation CEO.

"You made it." Declan said with a solemn gaze.

"I can never turn down a challenge, can I?" Yuya grinned before looking towards his friends in the grandstands.

"And neither will I. No two Duels of ours were the same. And this one will be no different." Declan said as he activated his Duel Disk, which has a white body and projected a red blade in a parallelogram shape.

"For once, I couldn't agree more." Yuya replied as he turned his red-bodied Duel Disk, which projected a yellow blade.

"Now to determine the field of battle… Hmm…Perhaps this should be quite fitting." Declan said before declaring the Action Field for their Duel. "I now activate the Action Field Spell Neo Heartland City!" The field around them started glowing as machine installed underneath started operating.

" _Augmented Reality Combat System energized. Generating Action Field…"_ A female AI announced as the field changed around them. The Action Field changed the area around the two competitors into a futuristic city, complete with glimmering lights, futuristic buildings, and a gigantic tower with a large pink heart at the top.

"Wait a minute… I know this Field." Yuya said.

"That's right. This is the very field I defeated you in before." Declan told him, reminiscing about the very field where Yuya lost to Declan.

"Well, things are about to be a whole lot different now!" Yuya declared as they stood face-to-face.

"Be careful, Yuya." Zuzu said softly.

"I sure hope he can handle himself as well as he did those dragons." Tate said with a bit of worry. The Duel then began with the two words uttered that start any clash between two spectacular competitors.

"Let's Duel!"

* * *

A considerable amount of time in the Duel has passed and both Yuya and Declan are already at their limit. And it's not just them; the monsters they're using are practically restless.

Declan's field has four D/D/D Monsters, all of whom look to bring Yuya to his knees, as well as two face-down cards.

The first of the four monsters is D/D/D Flame King Genghis, a Fusion Monster with the appearance of a fiery fiend-warrior in red and grey armor. It is armed with a red sword with bronze divots along the blade and a red and bronze shield. A fiery aura surrounds Genghis.

The second of the four is D/D/D Gust King Alexander, a Synchro Monster with silver armor complete with a green cape and glowing green diamonds. A wind-like green aura surrounds Alexander as it grasps its jagged silver sword.

The third to complete the Extra Deck trio is D/D/D Wave King Caesar, an Xyz Monster clad in grey and violet armor. In its hands was an oversized sword. A blue aura surrounds the Wave King Caesar as it glances at Yuya.

The final monster, D/D/D Doom King Armageddon, is the one monster of Declan's Yuya wasn't expecting to see. It depicted of a giant lavender crystal with a dark core within the center. The grey armor that surrounds the crystal gives it a face that glares down at Yuya as an eerie purple aura surrounded it.

Though Yuya's field is bare of monsters, he does have a pair of face-down cards he has been saving for a rainy day. But with what Declan has on his field, his "rainy day" just turned into a thunderstorm of fear. But he was able to stop his assault with an Action Spell called Big Escape, which put an end to Declan's Battle Phase earlier.

"You seem quite resilient, Yuya. I like that in a Duelist." Declan smirked.

"That's just who I am." Yuya replied.

"But compared to what I have in store for you, you'll wish you have never accepted my invitation!" Declan glared, placing another face-down card. "So give me your best shot!"

"Alright then, it's my turn now!" Yuya declared as he placed his fingers on the top card of his deck.

(Turn ?: Yuya)

" _Alright, lend me your strength. We will have to pull out all the stops in this turn. It's all… or nothing._ " Yuya thought in his head and glances up to Declan. "You want my best shot? I'll gladly give it to you!" He draws his card, with a streak of light followed by rainbow stars following. He glances at the card he drew and grins.

"Get ready, Declan, because it's time for me to swing into action!" Yuya shouts as he prepared his move. "I'll set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician! I'm taking control of this Duel, starting now!" He places the two Pendulum cards on the far ends of his Duel Disk, with rainbow lettering that spells out "Pendulum" appearing on the blade.

Then, two masked magicians appeared in transparent blue pillars of light. The first, Stargazer, is garbed in white robes with a long purple cape. Long, blond hair is seen flowing underneath. In his hands was a long staff with a circular disk in the center. (5/1200/2400/1)

The second is Timegazer, who is clad in black with a clock gear motif and he's armed with a golden ring mechanism on his right glove. (3/1200/600/8)

The two magicians rose to the highest point possible as numbers representing their Scales appeared below them and a giant crystal-like pendulum appeared, swaying between the pillars.

"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 2 through 7, all at the same time!" Yuya declared. Declan looked on with intrigue as those watching are amazed.

"Swing far, pendulum! Carve the arc of victory!" Yuya chanted as the giant pendulum swung behind the two magicians. "My monsters are ready… to swing into action!" Then from a pink rift, five streams of light appeared from it, turning into monsters.

"Scratch your way to victory, Performapal Silver Claw!" The first of the five monsters is a silver-furred wolf with chains protruding from around its neck and sharp blade-like claws (4/1800/700/5)

"Pop some bubbles, Performapal Bubblebowwow!" The second of the five monster army looks to be a humanoid dog with a fluffy white cloth-like suspenders around its waist and it's also wearing a red bowtie with orange-yellow polka dots. Around its head looks to be a hat with a soap dispenser with a green frill around its neck. In its paw looks to be a long scrubbing brush. (6/2300/1000/5)

"H2-go, Performapal Skeeter Skimmer!" The fourth monster is a boat-like water strider earing a top hat with a red ribbon and a blue bowtie with white polka dots. (4/500/1600)

"Turn up the heat, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" The final creature to come out was a red bipedal dragon with dichromatic eyes, one being red and the other green and had a large blue gem in its chest and a smaller one in its head. There are three more gems on the construct protruding from its back, two green and one red. The dragon then let out an earsplitting screech, ready for battle. (7/2500/2000/4)

"Yeah, Yuya! Now this is getting me all fired up!" Skip cheered with enthusiasm.

"Go for it, Yuya!" Zuzu cheered her friend on. Yuya glances to Yuto's spirit, who grins, knowing what he'll do next.

"I overlay Level 4 Silver Claw and Skeeter Skimmer to build the Overlay Network!" Yuya declared his next move as Silver Claw and Skeeter Skimmer turned into a purple and blue streak of energy, which shot upward and traveled into a galaxy-like rift, causing a pillar of light erupting from the rift.

"Cloaked in shadows and relentless in its objective, I call upon the most dangerous of dragons!" Yuya chanted as the silhouette of a black and silver dragon with a blade-like mandible appeared within dark clouds. "I Xyz Summon! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" The dragon emerges from the clouds, letting loose a loud roar, primed for battle. ( **4** /2500/2000, OLU: 2)

"Next, I summon Tuning Magician." Yuya summons his next monster, who happens to be a cute magician with pink hair dressed in white and neon green robes. In her hand is a tuning fork-like staff. (1/0/0)

"A Tuner monster?" Declan wondered.

"That's right, and since I summoned Tuning Magician, her special ability activates." Yuya declared as the pink-haired magician struck the circular disk on the staff, sending sound waves across the field. "Sure it may cost me 400 of my Life Points, but it's worth the price to pay." He cringes in slight pain as his Life Points went down by 400 and Declan's rejuvenated by 400. Yugo's spirit appeared next, giving him the signal to summon his dragon. "Especially when Level 1 Tuning Magician tunes Level 6 Performapal Bubblebowwow!" The pink-haired magician turned into a green ring of energy, which encircled Bubblebowwow, turning it transparent and revealing six motes of light.

"Beat your wings to whip up a whirlwind of destruction!" Yuya chanted as a shining pillar of light shone behind him. "I Synchro Summon! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" The creature that emerged was another dragon, white and blue with black stripes along its tail, neon green constructs on its body and back. It released a roar before joining the other two dragons. (7/2500/2000)

"Impressive. You have three of the four dragons. There's just one more I've been waiting to see." Declan said, hoping for what he has next. Yuya then notices Yuri's spirit, giving him the signal to summon it.

"Next, I activate one of my face-downs, Pendulum Reborn! Now I can summon a Pendulum Monster from my Graveyard or Extra Deck!" He declares as rift appears beside Odd-Eyes. "Hocus pocus to it, Performapal Trump Girl!" A magician with a small scepter clad in colorful clothing with pink hair concealing her eyes appeared. (2/200/200/4)

"And since I summoned a Performapal, I can give her a helping hand, all thanks to Performapal Helpprincess!" Yuya summoned another monster, which is a purple-clothed girl with her purple hair tied in long pigtails by oversized red hair clips. She's also wearing a green bowtie with light green polka dots, long black gloves and knee-length boots. A hand-sized red notebook can be seen hanging from her neck and in her hands is a long staff with an oversized hand at the end. (4/1200/1200)

"Here it comes…" Declan smirked.

"I now activate Trump Girl's special ability! She can work her magic by giving me the power to Fusion Summon this turn!" Yuya declared his next move. "I fuse Trump Witch and Helpprincess! By bringing these two together, I can create a creature that is sure to be a thorn in your side!" Trump Girl and Helpprincess rose up in front of a swirling portal. Trump Girl turned red while Helpprincess turned blue and they both swirled together, causing a blinding light to shine from the portal. "I Fusion Summon! Arise, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" The final dragon to appear has a violet and green dragon with glowing red and yellow motes of energy across its body. A thick substance is oozing from its four flytrap-like fanged mouths on its back. (8/2800/2000)

"He's summoned all four of his dragons." Tate said from the grandstands.

"He's won with them before, but can he do it again?" Zuzu asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"First, I'll use Starving Venom's special ability! Since all the monsters I used to Fusion Summon it were on my field, my dragon gains the attack points of all of your monsters!"

"What?!" Declan gasped as Starving Venom's four fanged mouths opened up and pink energy rushes into the mouths, strengthening its power immensely (8/2800→12,700/2000)

"That's a lot of Attack Points!" Tate commented while Zuzu smiled, knowing Yuya will win this.

Yuya then mounts onto Dark Rebellion's back. "Now I'll use Dark Rebellion's special power! By using an Overlay unit, I can drain half the Attack Points of a Level 5 or above monster and give those Attack Points to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" He declared as the two purple orbs of light that revolves around the black and silver dragon disappeared. Its wings unfolded, creating purple lightning that bound Genghis and Alexander, draining half their strength and transferring to Dark Rebellion. (Genghis: 6/2000→1000/1500; Alexander: 7/2500→1250/2000; Dark Rebellion: **4** /2500→4750/2000)

"He's drained half the Attack Points of Declan's monsters!" Tate gasped. "If he lands his attacks, he'll win!"

"Go get 'em, Yuya!" Zuzu cheered with a burning passion.

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, attack Flame King Genghis!" Yuya commanded the purple and green dragon as its four fanged mouths on Starving Venom's back open up and forks of red and purple lightning and green orbs appear between them. The violet dragon blasts the lightning and a stream of green energy at Genghis.

"Not so fast! I play the Action Spell Evasion! Now your attack misses its mark!" Declan declared his evasive tactic as Genghis sidesteps to dodge Starving Venom's attack.

"You may have stopped one monster's attack, but I still have three more waiting. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, attack Alexander!" The white and green dragon flew up high and its wings began to glow. The dragon then spun around in a spiral dive towards Alexander. "Spinstorm Sky Strike!" Declan grabs another Action Spell from a nearby fountain.

"Don't think you can win yet! I activate Miracle! Not only is Alexander safe from your dragon's attack, the damage I take is cut in half!" Declan activated the Action Spell he acquired. A protective barrier surrounded Alexander, which protected him from the impact, but the shockwave from the resulting shockwave pushed Declan back a few feet as his Life Points went down.

"I'm impressed, Yuya. For once, you managed to give me a hard time in this Duel." Declan smirked.

"Trust me, Declan; the show's far from over." Yuya replied.

"For once, I agree with that! I activate the Trap Dark Contract with the Witch!" Declan springs his Trap Card. "Sure I may not have any cards in my hand, but I can still use its effect to strengthen my D/D/D Monsters by 1000 points!" The aura that surrounded each of the monsters grew brighter as Declan's monsters became stronger. (Genghis: 6/1000→2000/1500; Alexander: 7/1250→2250/2000; Caesar: **4** /2400→3400/1200, OLU: 2; Armageddon: 8/3000→4000/1000/4)

"Caesar and Armageddon are stronger than almost all of Yuya's dragons now!" Frederick gasped.

"Yuya…" Zuzu whispered to herself with worry.

"You may have made your monsters stronger, Declan, but you forget that my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon has more Attack Points. And I can't let good Attack Points go to waste. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, take out Wave King Caesar with Mauling Mandible Charge!" The black and silver dragon's bladed fangs generated lightning and its wings sparked up. It flies forward at Caesar. Declan managed to grab another Action Card from under a lamp post.

"Hold it right there! I activate another Miracle! Now Caesar is safe from your Dragon's attack and the damage I take is halved!" Declan declared his move as Caesar blocked Dark Rebellion's attack. The resulting shockwave pushed Declan a little farther than the last attack.

"Look, Yuya's about to win!" Allie said.

"But how will he be able to destroy any of his monsters?" Tate wondered. "Declan's always two steps ahead."

"Not for long. I activate a Trap known as Fighting Force!" Yuya declared as one of his face-down cards revealed itself. It depicted of Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing and Starving Venom, who all appear to be roaring in unison in a type of battlefield. "Now my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon gains Attack Points equal to the original Attack Points of every other monster I have that battled this turn!"

"All of them?!" Declan gasped in shock.

"That's right! Now Odd-Eyes is more than powerful enough to give your Doom King Armageddon a run for its money!" Yuya replied as Odd-Eyes let loose a bellow as its strength increased greatly. (7/2500→10,300/2000/4)

"10,300 Attack Points?!" Skip gasped in total surprise.

"One blast from Odd-Eyes could finish this right here!" Tate said.

"Oh, a move like that is giving me major goose pickles!" Frederick said happily, dancing in his seat. Zuzu smiled warmly as she and her companions watched Yuya mount Odd-Eyes.

"The stage is set, Odd-Eyes! Time to give Declan the results he needs! Attack Doom King Armageddon!" Yuya declared his show-stopping attack. The red dragon roars once more as it stomps forward and leaps in the air. A red energy stream charged up in its maw. "Spiral Flame Strike!" Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon fired the energy stream at Doom King Armageddon.

"You may have made your monster powerful, Yuya, but even it will not help you!" Declan shouted as he activated another Trap, which was the same as Yuya's.

"What?!" Zuzu gasped in shock.

"He has Fighting Force too?!" Yuya was bewildered at how Declan was able to play the same Trap Yuya did.

"Did you honestly think I would go down without a fight? Think again! Now Doom King gains his allies' original Attack Points!" Declan said as Doom King glowed brighter and became stronger. (8/4000→10,900/1000/4)

"It's even stronger than Odd-Eyes now!" Yuya gasped.

"That's right! And what better way to demonstrate his power than obliterating your dragon! D/D/D Doom King Armageddon, blast his Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon out of the sky!" Declan commanded his most powerful beast. An energy attack charges up in Armageddon's core. Armageddon fires eight strands of purple and black lightning, which collided with Odd-Eyes' stream.

"Neither one refuses to give up!" Tate commented.

"Come on, Yuya. You can win this!" Zuzu quietly wished for Yuya to win.

Yuya and Declan looked on as Odd-Eyes and Doom King push each other to their very limit, each hoping to best their greatest adversary. However, in the midst of the struggle, something unexpected happened.

In the center of the nudging beams, yet another eerie light appeared in the center. Everyone looked in total shock as the light grew larger, followed by a strange gale emanating from the same spot. Yuya's head started pulsing. He feels the sudden rush of pain in his head.

"What's going on?! What's happening?!" Yuya asked, completely bewildered. The spirits of his merged counterparts appeared beside him.

" _For once, I have no clue_!" Yuri replied.

" _But something tells me things are getting a whole lot worse_!" Yuto added.

His point was proven when Yuya's Dragons were swallowed by the ever expanding light, their roars of agony faded into nothingness. "ODD-EYES! NO!"

"What's this?! The ARC System can't be generating anything like this!" Declan deduced. "It must be a malfunction in the mainframe!"

"Declan, I don't think it's from the ARC System!" Yuya told the CEO.

"Yuya's right! We should get out of here while we still can!" Skip suggested.

The Action Field disappeared, as did Declan's monsters. "No! We've got to do something to stop this!" He argued.

"How can we!? This thing is growing larger by the minute! It already swallowed our monsters, and we're next!" Yuya protested, just as the glowing orb of light reached the two competitors. Yuya and Declan both screamed as the light swallowed them, their wails of panic fading into echoes into nothingness.

"YUYA!" Zuzu cried out to her friend as she soon whimpered with tears forming in her eyes. She stood there as the expanding light swallowed her next, her cries of horror becoming a silent echo, followed by her father and the children, their screams fading quickly.

Watching from the roof of the building, Yuya's father, famous Dueltainer Yusho Sakaki watched on as the light continued expanding. He's clad in a performers outfit, comprised of a red jacket with purple lining over an orange waistcoat with a blue collar and lined with yellow. A kerchief can be seen around his neck and perched on his black, ink green-shaded hair is a purple top hat with goggles on it. In his hands was a red staff topped with a blue orb. He uses that staff to assist him in his walking when he was injured in a Duel. " _There's no doubt as to what's going on… The Dark Emperor… has come back._ " He stood there as the light swallowed him as well and yet he didn't even flinch. Everyone's earsplitting shrieks of fear and terror were eventually brought into a deep silence as the light expanded across Paradise City, eventually reaching out to the Fusion, Xyz and Synchro Dimensions.

And just like those before them, even the four dimensions cannot escape the force that brings them to the empty, vast darkness that is the Shadow Realm.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **(After dealing with the power, Ness and Crow continue playing their game. I come in with Tracer and Ahsoka)**

 **Me: Ness, Crow.**

 **Ness: (Pauses the game) Oh, Archer. What brings you in here?**

 **Me: I kind of noticed there was a minor power outage a little while ago. Did either of you have anything to do with that?**

 **Crow: What? No, we figured that out once our game shut off. Ness and I only left to fix it.**

 **Ahsoka: Right… Anyway, Ness, I could use your help with something.**

 **Ness: What is it?**

 **Ahsoka: Actually, Master Yoda wanted me to tell you that he requests your assistance on Lothal immediately.**

 **Ness: I'll be right there. (Leaves)**

 **Crow: What about you?**

 **Me: Oh, I brought Tracer here as security in case someone tries to steal from us.**

 **Crow: Ah. Good luck with that.**

 **Me: Alright. I better get this thing up and running. You readers may rate, review and fav. Archer out!**


	7. The Five Heroes Meet

**(We search all over Altambra with Jack Cayman for the whereabouts of Lord Zedd and the treasures)**

 **Me: Any luck?**

 **Marinette: Nothing here.**

 **Goku: Nothing.**

 **Adrien: This is hopeless! We'll never find Zedd at this rate!**

 **(Suddenly, a figure with burned skin and silver armor appeared before us, a Z-topped staff in his hands)**

 **Samurai Jack: Lord Zedd!**

 **Jack Cayman: So this bozo is Lord Zedd?**

 **Lord Zedd** **: Yes, I am indeed Lord Zedd, the Emperor of Evil. And who might you be?**

 **Jack Cayman: The guy who makes sure your minions don't get in our way.**

 **Aku: Is that so? Well, why don't you give it a try? Putties, attack!**

 **(Lord Zedd summons an army of Putty Patrollers and they attack us)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 6: The Five Heroes Meet

Deep within the center of Shadow Realm, everyone that became involved in their being sent by that wave of light can be seen lying on the ground, unconscious. Yami was the first to awaken. Worried about his friends, The Pharaoh looked around and noticed Kaiba lying right next to Mokuba, unconscious but unharmed. He looked to his other side and saw Joey, Téa and Tristan, unconscious as well. He looks around, noticing they appear to be in the Domino City Plaza. At first he believed to have traveled through time and space, but that was disproven once Yami looked up and saw the sky covered in shadows. He quickly identified where he and his friends were taken to. "The Shadow Realm…" The spectral image of the shy Yugi Muto appeared, feeling drained and weary, but was unharmed nonetheless. "Are you alright, Yugi?"

" _I'll be fine, Atem._ " The timid Yugi replied. " _But whatever that was just now knocked us out and cancelled our Duel._ "

"Yes." Atem concurred in agreement. "That light was no error. A glitch like that could easily cancel our Duel and shut off the Kaiba Dome's power, but it doesn't have the ability to render us unconscious like that. I sense an outside force at work here."

" _Well, it doesn't appear to be the work of a hacker or a virus._ " Yugi deduced. " _Do you think that light is caused by some type of magic?"_

"I highly doubt that, Yugi. I can't seem to sense any magical oddities that caused the light to appear." Atem said as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "However, I sense another force is behind this, one that even I have no knowledge of. I recommend we keep our guard up, Yugi, because whatever might happen will lead us to a dangerous path."

" _Then let's be careful. We'll never know is this anonymous force we're dealing with is dangerous as well."_

Yugi Muto's slightly transparent body disappeared as Yami noticed two familiar faces lying in front of him. He recognized them when they traveled to the past to stop Paradox from erasing Duel Monsters from history. "Jaden? And Yusei? It seems that my friends and I aren't the only one affected by that light." His attention soon shifted to Kaiba upon hearing his pained grunt. The King of Games soon saw him waking up, shuddering with pain as he attempted to push himself up from the ground. Atem rushed over to Kaiba and kneeled down, reaching his hand out to help his rival back on his feet. "Kaiba, are you alright?"

Kaiba responds by swatting away Atem's hand. "I'll be fine, Pharaoh." He grumbled. Using his strength, Kaiba pushed himself up on his feet, wobbling for a bit before regaining his leverage. Kaiba looked around the square, his face melting into a frown of aggravation.

"Well, isn't this perfect? Just as my Blue-Eyes was about to be decimated, my holographic systems developed a major internal glitch and now we're somewhere in Domino City." Kaiba complained before glaring at his rival. "I have a feeling you were somehow behind this, Pharaoh."

"Kaiba, say what you want about what happened, but I had nothing to do with this." Atem explained. "Someone or something had caused the light to appear and interrupt our Duel."

Kaiba was just about to retort when he heard his younger brother groaning. The KaibaCorp CEO turned around and noticed Mokuba beginning to wake up. "Mokuba!"

"Seto…" Mokuba groggily muttered his brother's name before waking up.

"I'm here, Mokuba. Are you hurt?" Kaiba asked with a hint of worry.

"I… I'm okay, big brother." Mokuba replied, feeling weary. Kaiba grinned, knowing that his younger brother is unharmed. Kaiba glanced at the Pharaoh, then at his unconscious friends.

"Don't just stand there, Pharaoh! Wake those geeks up!" Kaiba barked his orders. He then noticed Jaden and Yusei on the ground not too far away, as well as a few unfamiliar faces. "And while you're at it, be sure to wake them up as well."

Atem was a bit agitated at Kaiba barking orders at him, but complied anyway. He went over to Joey, Tristan and Téa. Atem kneeled down and started shaking Joey awake. Joey slowly opened his eyes and noticed the Pharaoh. His vision was a bit blurry, but it cleared up within seconds.

"P-Pharaoh?" Joey asked groggily.

"Yes, Joey. It's me." Atem told him. Joey cracked a smile as he pushed himself up on the ground.

"What happened? How did we get here?" Joey asked.

"That's what I want to know too, Joey, but for now, let's focus on the others." The Pharaoh said, pointing to Tristan and Téa.

"Oh, yeah. We should help them." Joey complied as he went over to wake Tristan while Atem tries to wake Téa up. They wake up feeling worn out.

"Pharaoh…?" Téa asked woozily. She sees Atem smiling down at her, feeling relieved that she is okay.

"Can you move?" The Pharaoh asked. Téa begins to push herself up onto her feet.

"I… I think so." Téa replied as she started standing, wobbling a bit longer than Kaiba but she was able to gain her balance. She looks over to Tristan, who managed to wake up.

"What happened? How in the world did we end up in the plaza?" Tristan asked.

"To be honest, I have no clue…" Joey began before looking up towards the shadow-filled sky. "But judging from that dark sky, I'd say that light most likely took us to the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm? This doesn't add up. How can a mysterious light send us to the Shadow Realm?" Tristan deduced, quickly getting to his feet.

"That's what I thought as well, Tristan." Yami replied with a hint of uncertainty. "There's no magic involved in this, but I can assure you that someone or something was able to incapacitate us and take us here."

"I see…" Tristan said, a bit puzzled by Atem's explanation.

"Now let's wake the others and figure out how to escape this evil place." Atem said as he approached the strewn unconscious bodies of Jaden, Yusei and the others.

"Others? I thought we were de only ones here." Joey believed.

"Not quite, dork." Kaiba spoke up, motioning to the other unconscious Duelists as he helped Mokuba to his feet. The other three look over to the unconscious Duelists.

"Oh, right." Joey said, feeling stupid about the other victims of the mysterious light. "Come on, you guys. Let's help the Pharaoh wake everyone up."

"Yeah." Tristan said as they proceeded to help Jaden, Yusei and the others.

* * *

After everyone is awake and standing, all of the Duelists and spectators affected by the mysterious light are standing in the center of the plaza. Everyone introduces themselves to one another as Jaden looks over to Atem.

"Thanks for the wake-up call, Yugi." Jaden thanked the King of Games. "I was having one heck of a dream where I got knocked out by this weird light and got sucked into some strange world."

"Jaden, this may surprise you, but that was no dream." Yami told the Slifer Red graduate.

"Come again?"

"That light you experienced was real. In fact, it has affected all of us." Yami said. "As for what world you're in, well, I suggest you look up." Everybody looks up and sees the dark shroud that forms the sky above them.

"What's with the sky? It's all gloomy and dark." Yuma spoke up.

" _That's the whole point, Yuma. Right now, we're in what's known as the Shadow Realm."_ Astral said, appearing from his key.

"The Shadow Realm?" Jaden asked before a memory sparked within his head. "Wait a minute… I remember being in a place like that before, but I thought it was just smoke and mirrors, an illusion."

"I'm afraid that was no illusion." Yami clarified. "Even I was in this place before."

Jaden was a bit puzzled at first, but once he mulled it over, it hit him. "WHAT?! You mean to tell me that we're actually in the real Shadow Realm?!" He screamed in complete shock.

"I'm afraid it's true, Jaden." Yami sighed with a bit of disappointment.

"So, tell me, Yugi, this Shadow Realm, how can we get out?" Yusei asked.

"It's not that easy, Yusei. Only the power of a Millennium Item can dispel the power of the Shadow Realm, and besides the Puzzle, all of the Items have been buried away, never to be seen again." Yami explained, holding the Puzzle in his hand. "However, whoever or whatever brought us here must control a force even I have little or no knowledge about."

"But who do you think had the power to bring us here?" Yuya asked.

"I'll wager that flagship may have some answers." Jack Atlas said looking up towards an approaching flagship. The other Duelists look at the flagship.

"Something tells me we're about to meet the man or machine responsible for this." Zuzu muttered with fear. Almost on cue, a blue pillar of transparent light shone from the flagship and a dark figure in armor levitated down to the plaza.

"So you're the one responsible for dealing a severe blow to my company." Kaiba accused.

"And what if I did, Seto Kaiba?" The armored man in the mask spoke.

"Don't play dumb!" Hassleberry shouted. "We know what you did!"

"Yeah! We all know what you're up to and there's no way we'll let it happen!" Jack shouted. "So why don't you make this easy for all of us and stop whatever it is you're doing, okay?"

"You should listen to him. What has Duel Monsters ever did to you that made you want to do this sort of thing?" Zuzu asked.

"What it did to me is why I'm here." The masked man replied. "Maybe I haven't made myself clear, but if you want answers, I think now's the time…" He proceeded to take off his mask, revealing charcoal black skin, crimson hair and dark grey eyes. "We all get acquainted. You may address me as Shade."

"Shade…" Yusei muttered.

"I doubt that any of you have heard about me, but I heard so much about you. In fact, I was the one responsible for bringing you and everyone else here." Shade confirmed. "And now that we're all here, I think now would be a good time to discuss the matters of your current predicament."

"Wait a minute, so you kidnap us and our home from our timelines just to have a chat with us?!" Yuya sputtered, holding up his clenching fist to Shade.

"That is just all kinds of messed up, man!" Crow yelled, pointing his finger at the armored being. "Why don't you just stop whatever it is you're about to do and put us back in our own timeline, okay?"

"Don't you see, Crow Hogan? What I'm doing is why I brought you all here." Shade replied. "What I did is simply invite you to play the Ultimate Shadow Game."

"The Ultimate Shadow Game?" Yugi asked.

"Correct, Yugi Muto." Shade simply nods. "Right now, we are currently engaged in a Shadow Game that within the depths of time and space, one that combines each and every era in time, every dimension trapped within this dark realm, and every being who reside in those eras and dimensions into the ultimate game of survival that will test their Dueling abilities. The rules are very simple, if you can all follow along. Everyone within this realm must survive within the Shadow Realm for as long as they can, everyone, including Duelists and non-Duelists alike. Should anyone lose in this game, their soul shall become victim to the Shadow Realm's dark energy, erasing them from existence forever."

Yugi, Jaden, Yusei, Yuma, Astral and Yuya all looked at Shade with a mix of feared and or uncertain looks. Yugi retained his signature narrowed gaze with a small growl; Jaden wore a slightly shocked look with gritted teeth; Yusei's collected stare grew intense as he lowered his brow; and Yuma, Astral and Yuya stood by while their faces were decorated with fear.

"So you're going to eliminate everyone from existence for some sick game?!" Yugi replied with shock and a bit of rage.

"And we need to survive in the Shadow Realm?!" Jaden asked for clarification.

"Talk about scary!" Yuya yelped.

" _I definitely agree with you on that."_ Yugo agreed. " _This will certainly spell trouble for all of us."_

"Heh, if you thought the rules are bad enough, then you most certainly do not fully fathom how troublesome the situation really is." Shade added in. "You five are the most vital Duelists I ever have the fortune of coming across, so you and only you can stop this game from progressing any further. You see, there are certain gateways that leads to one area I have created that will lead you to my flagship and each one is hidden somewhere in every era and dimension. All you have to do is find out where those hidden gateways are located within seven days and defeat certain key individuals who know where they are."

"However, there is a slight catch." Shade continued. "You, and any friend who still remain in the game will have five days to find these gateways or you will automatically lose this Shadow Game. It does not matter which of your friends still remain, but if you are eliminated from the game, if you fail to reach the gateway once the countdown reaches zero, if you fail to defeat me in a Duel…" Shade brings his right arm up to his face, his hand radiating a light crimson glow. "Then with a wave of my hand, I will erase the course of Duel Monsters from history… forever!"

Yuma gulped "Forever? He's going to destroy Duel Monsters… forever?"

"That will never happen!" Yusei assured the boy. "We won't let you destroy Duel Monsters for your own personal gain!"

"Yeah, that's telling him!" Jaden spoke up, holding a determined fist to his chest level. "We've dealt with a time-traveling psychopath before, so we can take you down easy!"

"There's no way we'll ever become pawns for your twisted game!" Yugi resisted.

"Say all you like out here; you do not have a choice." Shade said as he brought his hand around and back. "Take a look around you. You are trapped in the realm of eternal darkness, locked in this plaza with strangers and faces that only a few here can remember, forced to oppose the only one who can restore everything. It is just like when you, Yusei Fudo, when you and your friends tried to oppose one of the only humans from a ruined future, and when you, Yugi and Jaden banded together to stop his loyal henchman, Paradox from destroying Duel Monsters and its creator."

Yusei gasped in total shock. "How do you know about that?"

"I have been watching from the darkest corners of the Shadow Realm, Yusei." Shade answered. "From the beginning of time, I have witnessed many marvels within the universe, from the age of the dinosaurs to the present day. But as this game you call Duel Monsters evolves, so does the evil that brought it into your eras."

A wave of shock and fear spread through the five Duelists and the humanoid spirit, all of their eyes widened and their irises and pupils shrunk to express their horrified response as Shade showed them images of the Great Leviathan's first attack on the Duel Monsters spirits trapped in the Human World, Yubel's climactic moment when she used Super Polymerization to fuse the Twelve Dimensions into one, Yusei's Duel with Z-one as the Divine Temple was falling through a rip in space, Yuma and Nash's Duel when the Human World and the Barian World were coming so dangerously close to colliding, and Yuya's Duel against Yuri as the Four Dimensions were close to merging due to Leo Akaba's ARC-V machine. This left the five Duelists in complete shock, but it was worth proving Shade's point.

"Are you saying… we're the ones responsible for the destruction of time and space?" Yuya spoke out.

"Unintentionally, yes. The five of you were considered heroes in your time, for not only the Duels you played, but for protecting your home from succumbing to certain destruction. While you have indeed fought to keep your eras safe, the energies from a certain Duel each of you has fought contributed in the destruction of time." Shade answered as he raised his armor-clad fist and pointed his finger at the quintet. "That is where you come in. For you see, in the event that my first plan fails, I will use you all as part of my "Plan B", so that I may eradicate Duel Monsters from existence and prevent the destruction of the universe that I have lost."

After a prolonged moment of silence that filled the air around them, Yugi, Jaden, Yusei, Yuma, Astral and Yuya stood at the ready while Shade stood in the same spot, calm, silent and menacing altogether. "So you're just going to use us like pawns for your own twisted game?!" The King of Games argued with the armored figure as he brought his left arm to his face and held his fist up to Shade, swiping it for added effect. "That's not going to happen any time soon, Shade, and we'll make sure you'll never go through with your plan!"

"Is that so? Well, I see that you are all ambitious to save your time and eras." Shade said. "Very well. If that's what you want, then it would be easy for any one of you to defeat me in a Duel. However, should I win, not only will the Ultimate Shadow Game start, but in the next 120 hours, I will rid the universe of Duel Monsters!"

Shade brought his left gauntlet up as a dark blue aura glowed on his arm. Suddenly, a black Deck holder with a circular red jewel steadily materialized above some of the crystals on his armor, holding at least fifty Duel Monsters cards stacked in its pile until it met the ceiling inside the holder. Then, from the red jewel, a green lightning bolt-shaped hologram appeared, solidifying into the shape of five dark violet blades where Shade can play his cards with ease. Finally, a small slot opened up underneath the Deck holder, acting as its Graveyard.

In response to accepting the challenge, Yugi swung his arm out at full length, activating his Duel Disk by combining the two separate blades containing the Monster Zones and Spell/Trap Zones to the middle, where the Graveyard was accessible for all cards. "I have just one thing to say to you, Shade: It's time to Duel!"

"Right! Hope you're ready to get your game on!" Jaden yelled as he stretched out his arm as well, and the smaller circle set into his Duel Disk slid out, making the other half of the blade pop out of a compartment.

Yusei threw his arm out to the side as his Duel Disk activated automatically. "Your twisted crusade ends here, Shade! Let's rev it up!"

" _Be careful, Yuma. Out of all the battles we faced in the past, this may be our toughest._ " Astral warned his companion.

"Then let's give it all we got." Yuma smiled before turning to face Shade. "You're going down, Shade! You want to know why? Because I'm feeling the flow!" He applied his Duel Gazer to his left eye and brought his arm out, his Duel Pad already set in place on his wrist as the Monster Zones pop out and set into place.

"I can assume you like a good performance, Shade!" Yuya said as he swung his arm outward, his Duel Disk activating as a yellow energy blade materialized from his Duel Disk, solidifying and forming his Monster Zones and Pendulum Zones. "So what do you say we swing into action?!"

With the unsheathing of the Duel Disks done, the Legendary Duelists brought their Disks to chest level with a determined look on their faces.

However, before the five-on-one duel between the Legendary Duelists and Shade can commence, the latter sensed an incoming force. "Sounds to me like we've got us an intruder." Shade spoke up calmly as a bright pillar of light appeared in front of the Legendary Duelists and a figure can be seen within the pillar. Once the light fades away, the figure is revealed. He had flared deep blue hair and his indigo eyes are seen underneath the red lens he's wearing. His cobalt-colored uniform comprised of yellow highlights, a grey cuirass with a high collar and matching knee guards and gloves. He turns his head towards the Legendary Duelist, glancing at the Signers, especially Yusei.

"It's been a long time, Yusei." He spoke. Yusei was breathless as he recognized the face behind the lens of the indigo-colored helmet.

"Vizor?" Yusei managed to utter the name this man used when he first met Yusei in his present form.

"So you're one known as Shade." Vizor glared at the armored being.

"Who's this clown?" Kaiba muttered.

"His name's Vizor, a duelist from the future. He helped me achieve something called the "Synchro Solution." Yusei explained to the KaibaCorp CEO.

"Synchro what?" Kaiba asked. "That hardly makes any sense."

"To be honest, that puzzled me as well, Kaiba, but once I was able to achieve Perfect Synchronicity, I was able to Accel Synchro Summon my Shooting Star Dragon." Yusei clarified.

"Perfect Synchronicity, Accel Synchro Summon… sounds like a lot of hocus-pocus nonsense to me." Kaiba smirked, crossing his arms.

"Say what you want about Accel Synchro Summoning, Seto Kaiba." Vizor slightly snapped. "It made Yusei into who he is now. And it defines who I am as well." Kaiba growled at the futuristic Duelist's remark. Vizor returns his attention to Shade. "I can assume you were behind all of this, aren't you?"

"And what if I am?" Shade replied.

"If you intend in trapping the entire universe in this dark realm and resetting it in your image, then I suggest standing down and put a stop to this right now!" Vizor yelled.

Shade simply sighed, knowing that Vizor would be insistent in Dueling him. "Very well, Vizor. If you are so bent on defeating me, who am I to deny that? I was hoping to Duel these five at the same time by the time you arrived, but if you are so willing to be destroyed by my hand, then it's appropriate that you shall be my first opponent."

Shade's gauntlet lit up as the Deck already in his Deck holder flickered, turning itself into a whole new Deck. "But know this, Vizor. The stipulation that is placed in the Duel between me and these five shall now be applied in this Duel, and if you happen to lose, then I will continue with my work as I intend to complete."

Vizor smirked to his enemy and chuckled. "Then you better hope you don't lose." He places his Duel Disk on his right forearm as it activates upon Vizor placing his Deck within the Deck holder. The Duel Disk that activated has a teal gem with a metallic purple base and the tray resembles a stealth bomber. "Because I am about to crush your dreams!"

"Be careful, Vizor. This guy is very dangerous." Yusei warned his enemy now turned ally.

"Not to worry, Yusei. I'll make sure this man does nothing to our world!" Vizor grinned.

"Good luck." Yusei was able to say before stepping back.

"So this Vizor guy, he's about to Duel Shade?" Joey asked.

"I'm afraid so, because if he loses, we'll have to fight our way out of here." The Master of Faster replied with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Then for once, I hope he wins this." Luna said with worry.

Vizor revealed his Duel Disk to Shade as he drew five cards. "You're gonna regret ever bring us here!" Shade followed by drawing his five cards.

"Coming here was your first mistake and Dueling me will be your last!" Shade shouted before coming up with something. "But before we start, I think a change of scenery is in order! I activate the Action Field Spell Crossover!"

With a wave of his hand, a wave of golden light stretched across the plaza as transparent pink platforms materialized across the area. Yuya and his friends recognize this style of Dueling but the others were either dumbfounded, awestruck or both.

"What is this?!" Vizor gasped, looking around at the sudden change in environment.

"Let's just say this is something I found in Paradise City in the Pendulum Dimension." Shade admitted.

"How on earth were you able to obtain that card, Shade?" Declan glared at the Dark Emperor.

"I'll bet he stole some kind of special programming from your company." Kaiba guessed, seeing as he himself is a gaming company owner.

"I have done no such act, Seto Kaiba." Shade replied. "And to answer your question, Declan Akaba, my Duel Disk is merely connected to all of your timelines. Meaning that even I can use this card if I choose to."

"You snake!" Joey hissed.

"Calm down, Joey! Let's let Vizor deal with him." Crow said holding him back. Having no other option, Joey stood back and watched on.

"So, where were we?" Vizor nonchalantly asked. "Oh yeah, we were just about to Duel!"

"Indeed we are." Shade said as he readied his five cards. They look up as a ball full of glowing cards burst, scattering the cards across the plaza, with a female AI voice declaring " _Action Cards dispersed._ "

"Let's Duel!" The two Duelists shouted as their Life Point meter rises to 4000. The Duel to begin the Ultimate Shadow Game has begun.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **(We were beaten up and bruised, but we were able to fend off the Putties)**

 **Lord Zedd: Hmm… Perhaps I underestimated you.**

 **Goku: Face it, Zedd! Your robots have lost! Now surrender the treasures you stole!**

 **Lord Zedd** **: Treasures? What are you talking about?**

 **Samurai Jack: Don't play dumb, Zedd! We know you stole them!**

 **Lord Zedd** **: But I have done nothing of the sort! I may be an evil emperor bent on destroying the Power Rangers, but even I know when I'm speaking the truth.**

 **Me: Uh, guys? Maybe Lord Zedd is speaking the truth.**

 **Marinette: What?!**

 **Adrien: But if Lord Zedd didn't steal the treasures, then who did?**

 **Lord Zedd** **: I don't know about you guys, but if you want answers, maybe you should try asking the one they call Conker.**

 **Marinette: Conker?**

 **Lord Zedd: Yes. You'll find him in his castle at the old Panther Kingdom. I hear he's claimed the throne now that the Panther King is dead.**

 **Me: It's worth a try. Never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the info, Zedd.**

 **Lord Zedd: Consider this my way of informing you that we will meet again.**

 **(Zedd vanishes in a bolt of lightning)**

 **Jack Cayman: Well that was surreal.**

 **Goku: And kind of scary.**

 **Me: Well, at least we got a lead. Let's return to base for now. Care to join us, Cayman?**

 **Jack Cayman: Thanks, but I have a bounty that needs completing and I don't want to keep my client waiting.**

 **(A portal opens behind us)**

 **Me: Oh well. I'll be sure to call when we need you.**

 **Jack Cayman: Good idea.**

 **Me: Alright, let's get going, then. You readers may rate, review and fav. Archer out!**


	8. A Duel in the Dark, Part 1

**(We return to the studio with Conker and meet with Slippy and Tails in the lab. We explained to them what we plan to do)**

 **Me: So, yeah, that's what we're trying to. We're attempting to bring her back to life.**

 **Slippy: But we never attempted anything like that before. No amount of scientific technology can revive the dead.**

 **Tails: He's right. Besides, even if we find Berri's body, searching for her soul is close to impossible.**

 **Conker: If only Death knows where we can find it.**

 **(Suddenly, a motorbike appears from out of nowhere and riding it was none other than Death)**

 **Death: Oy, I heard someone ask for me.**

 **Me: Death! What brings you here?**

 **Death: I was in the middle of a leisurely drive when I sensed someone requesting my presence. So, did someone die?**

 **Goku: Not here, no, but since you're here, we should tell you what we want.**

 **(We start explaining to Death about what we want from him)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 7: A Duel in the Dark, Part 1

After unexpectedly appearing out of nowhere and taking over the legendary Duelists' Duel, the futuristic Duelist Vizor begins to take on the Dark Emperor Shade for the fate of the five eras.

 **Vizor: 4000  
Hand: 5**

 **VS.**

 **Shade: 4000  
Hand: 5**

Shade looked at his starting hand. "Since I issued this challenge, I think I'll give you the first move, if you're up for it."

"Very well, then." Vizor agreed to it. "And just so you know, as a time traveler, I learned much about the new rules that are applied."

(Turn 1: Vizor: 4000)

"But let's save the explanations for later. I summon T.G. Beast Mistress!" The first monster he played was a humanoid cyborg flytrap with two cybernetic limbs and a red lens for its left eye. (3/1000/400)

"Only 1000 Attack Points?" Akiza wondered. "What is he planning?"

"I hope it's something that can help him win." Hassleberry replied.

"Next, I activate Beast Mistress' special ability!" Vizor declared. "Now I can summon a T.G. Monster from my Deck or Graveyard as long as its level is 2 or below. I Summon T.G. Striker!" The next monster he played is a futuristic Warrior with blue armor underneath a black form-fitting bodysuit. (2/800/0)

"Is that a Tuner monster?" Allie guessed.

"Yes, and that can only mean one thing." Jack Atlas nods as they witness Vizor declare his next move.

"Now Level 2 Striker tunes with Level 3 Beast Mistress!" Vizor shouts as Striker transformed into two rings of green energy, and surrounded Beast Mistress, turning it into three motes of light. Afterwards, a shining pillar of light shone behind him. "All systems are Go! I Synchro Summon! T.G. Hyper Librarian!" The next monster was a white-robed magician with a red trim in his cape and a futuristic symbol on the cover of his tome. (5/2400/1800)

"Whoa! So that's how this Synchro Summoning works." Syrus noted.

"What was your first clue, half-pint?" Kaiba remarked.

"Hey!" Syrus snapped.

"Stand down, Private Truesdale!" Hassleberry defended the small but confident Obelisk Blue graduate. "He didn't mean those words."

"But Sarge…!" Syrus tried to argue before Luna stopped him.

"Let's not get too carried away, okay?" Luna said. Syrus simply stepped back and continued watching the Duel.

"Next, I activate the Spell TGLLS! When I have at least a T.G. Monster on my field, I can summon at least one more T.G. Monster from my Deck or Graveyard, as long as their combined levels are lower than the Monster I chose." Vizor declared, activating a spell that depicted an interdimensional gateway that appears to be built in the future. "I choose to summon T.G. Duplicator!" His next monster appears to be a ninja with some futuristic armaments armed with a simple duplicating helmet. (2/800/400)

"Two tuners in one turn, I see." Shade noted.

"That's right, and since there are at least two T.G. Monsters on my field, counting the Synchro Monster Hyper Librarian, I can summon T.G. Sword Ogre!" Vizor said as he summoned his next monster was a dark red ogre warrior with futuristic implants and a dual-bladed sword. (3/800/1400)

"And with that done, Level 2 Duplicator tunes Level 3 Sword Ogre!" Duplicator transformed into two rings of energy that scanned Sword Ogre turning it into three motes of light. Another pillar of light shone down behind him. "All systems are Go! I Synchro Summon! The Synchro Tuner Monster T.G. Data Seeker!" As the pillar dissipates, the monster is revealed as a robotic scientist with its left eye replaced by a green lens and its movement is performed using a hovercraft. (5/300/2300)

"A Synchro Tuner?" Alexis asked, puzzled. "Okay, now I'm lost here."

"We can explain what they are later, Alexis." Declan spoke up.

"I take it you are planning an Accel Synchro Summon, aren't you?" Shade guessed.

"Yes, but that will come later. For now, since I Synchro Summoned, I get to draw a card thanks to Hyper Librarian's ability. I'll end with two face-downs! Let's see what you can do." Vizor challenged, placing two face-down cards, leaving him with only one card in his hand.

(Turn 2: Shade: 4000)

"Oh, you will see what I can do. And a whole lot more!" Shade accepted the challenge, drawing his sixth card.

"To start, I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity!" Shade activated his first card. "This allows me to draw 3 new cards in exchange for discarding two." He draws three cards from his Deck and places two into his Graveyard.

"At least we know he's using some pretty basic cards in his Deck." Tristan noted.

"Yeah. Who knows what he could be planning." Joey added.

"Next, since my field is void of monsters, I'm allowed to summon Darkspace Smasher!" Shade declared his move by summoning his monster. The monster that surfaced from the ground was a dark, corrupt version of Kite's Photon Thrasher; with dark energy flowing through its body and purple and black armor placed where blue and orange are originally placed. It swings its large blade, ready for battle. (4/2100/0)

"Darkspace?" Yuya said, puzzled. "I never heard of those cards before."

"But I have." Kite stated. "Legends tell of a group of creatures that reside in the darkest reaches of space. Their most powerful beast is a dragon whose power rivals that of even the Dragons of Light and Time. Let's just hope it is as powerful as they say."

"Next, I summon Darkspace Brawler!" Shade's next monster is a humanoid pugilist with dark energy within its body. He throws some air punches before assuming a battle stance. (4/2000/100)

"Two monsters with 2000 Attack Points?!" Leo gasped. "That can't be good."

" _And knowing how similar Shade's strategy is to Kite's, it's about to get a lot worse."_ Astral noted.

"Now, I sacrifice both my Smasher and my Brawler!" Both monsters disappear in a burst of pixels, which travel to a black hole that suddenly opened in the sky. "With this, I summon a monster more ferocious than a cosmic twister! A behemoth with a devastating force of 50 black holes combined! A galactic scourge that eradicates everything in its wake! Appear now, Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon!" A dark silhouette appeared from the black hole. The silhouette was revealed as a Dragon with its body and wings made entirely of dark energy. Dark violet armor held together its head, nape, torso, shoulders, claws, tail and thighs while bits of dark crimson framed its wings and the dark colored jewels on its forehead, chest and tail. The Dragon let loose a battle-ready roar as it spread its wings outwards, giving off a dark aura. (8/3000/2500)

"As I feared." Kite glanced at the dark dragon.

"Impressed, aren't you, Vizor?" Shade smirked.

"I must say, you were able to summon a monster with 3000 Attack Points in one turn." Vizor grinned.

"Just the words I want to hear from you." Shade replied. But what Vizor said next put the Dark Emperor on edge.

"But even it will not compare to what I have in store. I activate the Trap TGSX2-NST!" Vizor declared. "Since my two T.G. monsters are in the fray, your Spell and Trap Cards are useless for the rest of this turn."

"Impressive. You managed to stop me from using any more Spells and Traps. But even without them, my Darkspace Dragon is still strong enough to blast your monsters to pieces." Shade smirked.

"That's true, but you haven't seen what my Deck is truly capable of. Watch and learn! Go, Accel Synchro!" Vizor shouted. Upon hearing its wielder's words, Data Seeker shot up into the air, transforming into green rings of energy that shoot into the sky. They surround Hyper Librarian, turning him into five motes of light. A large pillar of light shone behind the futuristic Turbo Duelist. "All systems are Go! I Synchro Summon! T.G. Blade Blaster!" Once the pillar dissipates, Vizor's trump card is revealed. The monster is a robotic gunslinger with green armor with its torso resembling Vizor's and orange highlights on its head, shoulders, collar, knees and ankles. The weapon it holds is a simple metal rifle with a glowing blade on the barrel. (10/3300/2200)

"Incredible…" Zuzu gasped, awestruck at Vizor's completely unexpected move.

"He's able to Synchro Summon during his opponent's turn." Yuya added.

"Yes. That was the power of the Accel Synchro." Yusei told them.

"I've got to hand it to you, Vizor. I'm impressed." Shade admitted. "You were able to Synchro Summon one of your most powerful monsters during my turn."

"That was just a taste of what my monsters can do, Emperor." Vizor stated. "My monsters have never failed me before and they won't fail me now." He cracked a confident grin.

"But I'm afraid even they're no match for my Darkspace creatures." Shade told him as he took a card from his hand and places it face-down. "Especially once they tap into the power of darkness! I place a card face-down and end my turn. Show me what you can do."

(Turn 3: Vizor: 4000)

"Oh, I intend to." Vizor said as he drew his card. "Tech Genus Blade Blaster, attack his Darkspace Dragon!" Blade Blaster takes to the skies and aims its bladed blaster at its target.

"Blade Blaster's so going to win this!" Yuma cheered.

"I'm afraid that you'll have to wait it out. I activate Darkspace Dragon's special ability! Whenever our monsters battle it out, both of them are banished!" The Dark Emperor declared his defense tactic.

"They are?!" Vizor gasped as both Darkspace Dragon and Blade Blaster disappear right before their eyes.

"But don't worry. They return as soon as the Battle Phase is over." Shade pointed out. As proof, both the battling monsters reappeared on their owners' sides of the playing field.

"I can assure you that even if you destroy my Blade Blaster, there's still more to come." Vizor warned him.

"And I will bring them all down one by one." Shade said as he laughed like a crazed madman.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Death: Interesting. So what you're saying is you want me to help you find the soul of this Berri girl so that you can revive her?**

 **Conker: Yes, that's right, but we have no idea where to start.**

 **Death: Well, Conker, you're in luck. I know just where you guys can look.**

 **Adrien: Really?! Where?!**

 **Death: Deep in the underworld, there's a tower that houses the souls of everyone that kicks the bucket. I'll wager the girl's soul is there.**

 **Goku: Cool! Can you tell us where in the underworld is this tower?**

 **Death: I'm afraid it's not that simple. The underworld can be very dangerous. No mortal has walked out of there alive. And the only way in is to cross the River Styx. If you want to find her soul, you'll need my help.**

 **Me: Thanks, Death. We could use help like yours.**

 **Death: Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do. Besides, I needed something to get my mind off of Adam West's passing.**

 **Me: Yeah, me too. Anyway, let's get to the underworld while we can. You readers may review and such and I just want to say thanks to Adam West for giving us years of smiles and laughs. You will be missed.**


	9. A Duel in the Dark, Part 2

**(I look over my book of ideas in the main hall when Twilight and Jaden walk in)**

 **Jaden: Hey man.**

 **Me: Hey Jaden, Twilight.**

 **Twilight: Have you seen Marinette and Adrien?**

 **Me: Last I heard from them, they found gremlin eggs in a hotel.**

 **Jaden: You know, that does sound strange.**

 **Me: I'll say. Good thing Smoke is handling that predicament. Now I better get to my workshop.**

 **Twilight: Okay then. See you later.**

 **(Twilight and Jaden leave as I go to my workshop)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 8: A Duel in the Dark, Part 2

Vizor and Shade are locked in a Duel to determine the fate of the five eras. Though they both have 4000 Life Points, the futuristic Duelist has an advantage with his T.G. Blade Blaster as well as one face-down card, but Shade has Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon on his side with two face-down cards and it's his turn.

"I've gotta hand it to you, Emperor. You managed to evade my attack, but it'll eventually fall like the rest." Vizor said.

"Vizor, you don't get it, do you? My monsters have complete control of the darkness." Shade told him.

"Be careful, Vizor. I hear whatever powers he has are beyond even yours." Yusei warned.

"Trust me, Yusei. I can handle myself. After all, you remember my Blade Blaster's special ability, don't you?" Vizor reminded him.

"Wait, of course!" Yusei said, remembering Blade Blaster's ability.

"Uh, can someone explain to me what the heck he's talking 'bout here?" Joey asked.

"Apparently, Vizor can discard a card from his hand to negate any Spell or Trap Card that affects his Blade Blaster. Not only that, even if Shade strengthens his Darkspace Dragon or summons something stronger, Blade Blaster can banish itself from the field until the end of the turn as soon as it attacks." Yusei explained.

"Oh, that's right!" Luna said.

"Oh, Shade is in for it." Leo grinned.

"Don't count him out just yet, guys." Kite spoke up. "You never know what sort of strategy he has up his sleeve."

(Turn 4: Shade: LP 4000)

"It's my turn. I draw!" Shade declared as he drew his card, which he activates right away. "I activate Card of Dark Galaxy!" The card depicted of two cards shooting out of a black hole. "By discarding a Darkspace or Galaxy monster in my hand and sending it to the Graveyard, I can draw two cards." He looks at his cards and then he laughs with pride.

"Get ready, Vizor, for you're about to experience the true power of the Darkspace legion!" Shade declared.

"You talk big, Shade, but can you back it up?" Vizor challenged.

"Oh, I can back it up. And I've got just the cards to do it!" Shade yelled. "But first, since the monster I discarded was Darkspace Hound, I get to take a Darkspace monster from my Deck and add it to my hand." A card slips out of his Deck after it shuffles and Shade places it in his hand.

He then revealed two cards, cards Yuya and Declan know all too well. "Next, I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Darkspace Galaxy Squad and Scale 10 Darkspace Galaxy Spino!" The Dark Emperor places the two cards on the far ends of his Duel Disk, the word "PENDULUM" appearing in rainbow letters. Soon, two creatures appeared in two transparent pillars of light, one being a dark purple aquatic creature with a trident imbued with darkness in its prongs, the other being a Spinosaurus with black scales, dark purple neural spines and crimson eyes. The numbers representing their scales appeared below.

"Now I can summon monsters from Level 2 through 9 at the same time!" Shade declared.

"Wait, Shade is able to Pendulum Summon too?!" Yuya gasped in shock.

"Like I said, you never know what sort of strategy Shade may have in his arsenal." Kite said.

"I Pendulum Summon! Rise, Darkspace Falcon!" The monster that appeared from the pink portal was a dark-feathered falcon with glimmering red eyes. (4/1600/1200)

"So that is Pendulum Summoning. I learn something new every day." Vizor grinned.

"Then perhaps you'll learn about this. I activate Darkspace Falcon's special ability!" Shade declared. "Once it's summoned, I get to take a Darkspace monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand." A card slips out of his Graveyard and he holds it up in his hand. "This gives me the opportunity to summon it right away. I summon Darkspace Galaxy Synchron!" The monster he summons is a dark purple robot with large red eyes. (2/200/800)

"A Tuner monster?!" Vizor gasped.

"Surprised? You're not the only one capable of Synchro Summoning." Shade said. "I tune Level 2 Darkspace Galaxy Synchron to my Level 8 Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon!" The dark robot turned into two green rings which surrounded the dark dragon. Soon, a bright pillar of light shone behind him. "Let the shadows of space swallow everything in its wake! I Synchro Summon! Arise, Galaxy-Eyes Black Cosmic Dragon!" The monster that resulted in the combination was a dark purple dragon similar to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, but with dark red armor and four wings. The purple jewel glows as it roars upon appearing. (10/3500/3000)

"Whoa, that is one humongous monster!" Leo yelped.

"Relax, Leo. Remember, Blade Blaster can banish itself from the field when it attacks, so even if I take damage, I'll still have my monster ready to attack." Vizor reminded him.

"Your monster may be strong, but it's not enough to withstand the power of darkness. I activate Black Cosmic Dragon's special ability!" Shade commands. "Now your monster's special abilities are negated!"

"What?!" Vizor shouts.

"And what's worse, my Cosmic Dragon gains your Blade Blaster's original Attack Point value. Cosmic Echo!" Shade explained as the dragon let loose a devastating battle roar that paralyzed Blade Blaster. The jewel then glowed, increasing the dragon's strength immensely. (10/3500→6800/3000)

"That's a lot of Attack Points." Luna whimpered.

"Don't worry, Luna. Vizor will find a way to stop it." Crow reassured her. "I hope…"

"Heh, I'd like to see him try." Shade informed him. "And if you think his special ability was bad enough, just wait until you see his attack!" Vizor quickly looked around and found a card on top of one of the transparent platforms. "Galaxy-Eyes Black Cosmic Dragon, send his Blade Blaster to the scrapyard! Cosmic Stream of Destruction!"

The dragon fired a black and white energy stream from its maw. Vizor acted quick and grabbed the card just as the attack made contact with Blade Blaster, causing a large smoke cloud. Shade grins with malice when the attack struck, but it quickly changed when the smoke cleared, revealing that Blade Blaster survived. "What?! But how is this possible?!"

"In case you're wondering how my monster was able to survive, I managed to activate the Action Spell Miracle." Vizor declared, revealing the card he grabbed and activated, depicting of a figure standing tall in a colorful background.

"Uh, guys, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but can any of you run all this back to me?" Leo requested.

"You know those glowing cards that scatter every time a Duel starts? Where we come from those are Action Cards." Tate explained.

"Tate is correct. And one of those cards just so happen to be Miracle, which protected his monster from destruction in battle and cuts any battle damage he took in half." Declan added as Vizor's Life Point meter dropped. (Vizor: LP 4000→2250)

"I see that you learned fast. You were able to find an Action Card and protected yourself with it." Shade complimented.

"That's right. These Action Cards can change the tide of a battle in an instant." Vizor clarified.

"Maybe, but the scales of fate are turning in my favor. I activate the Trap Darkspace Paralyzer!" Shade activated his Trap, depicting of Red Dragon Archfiend looking down upon Warrior Dai Grepher with a sinister look in the darkness of night. "When my monster attacks, but fails to destroy a monster in battle, your monster's abilities are negated until the end of your next turn and it can't attack." Black Chaos Dragon sent an electrical current at Blade Blaster, shutting down its systems.

"That's not good. How will Vizor win this?" Frederick gasped.

"Don't worry. If I know Vizor, and I'm saying that I do, it's that he knows a way around anything." Yusei reassured him.

Shade laughs confidently. "What's the matter, Vizor? Your Blade Blaster doesn't look so good. In fact, you may need to send it back to the shop. Your turn."

(Turn 5: Vizor: LP: 2250)

"You know what, that's just what I'm about to do!" Vizor declared as he drew his card. He looks at his card and grins.

"Since I have a Synchro Monster, I can summon T.G. Magma Ghost!" The first card he plays was a humanoid magma creature with heatproof wires connecting to its body. (1/0/0)

"Next, I summon T.G. Cyber Magician!" The next monster summoned was a futuristic mage in a silver robe with orange liquid in its shoulder guards, adorned with yellow tassels. (1/0/0)

"Another Synchro Summon, I see…" Shade guessed.

"You guessed correctly. I tune Level 1 Cyber Magician to Level 1 Magma Ghost!" Cyber Magician transforms into a single green ring that surrounds Magma Ghost, turning it into a mote of light. A pillar of light shines behind him. "All systems are Go! I Synchro Summon T.G. Recipro Dragonfly!" The resulting combination is a mechanical dragonfly with four spinning wing-like blades. (2/300/100)

"What good is that bit-sized bug going to do?" Shade questioned.

"It will do a lot for me. Because you were right. I will have to send it back. And I will do so with my Dragonfly's special ability. Now my Blade Blaster splits back into the two that formed him." Vizor declared as Blade Blaster disappeared and Hyper Librarian and Data Seeker materialized in its place.

"I see where this is going." Yusei states. "He tried this before on me."

"Get ready, Shade. As Jack Atlas would say, I am kicking this Duel into overdrive!" Vizor declared. "Go, Delta Accel Synchro! I tune Level 5 Data Seeker to Level 2 Recipro Dragonfly and Level 5 Hyper Librarian!"

"Now this is getting interesting!" Jack noted in awe as the crowd witnessed Data Seeker turn into five rings of green energy which surrounds both Hyper Librarian and Recipro Dragonfly, turning them into seven motes of light. A large pillar of light shines once again. "All systems at maximum power! I Synchro Summon T.G. Digital Reaper!" The combination of the three monsters resulted in a robotic skeleton in a dark red robe with white linings and red optics. Its weapon of choice is a metal scythe full of cybernetic data in the blade. (12/4500/0)

"So that's the power of the Delta Accel Synchro Summon." Shade notes of Digital Reaper's power.

"If you think that was impressive, just wait until you see its special ability. It can destroy a monster on your field! And it can't leave the Graveyard for the rest of the duel!" Vizor declared as Digital Reaper raised its scythe and brought it down onto Black Cosmic Dragon, turning it into data. Shade smirked upon his dragon's destruction.

"You shouldn't have done that, Vizor. No matter how hard you try to purge the darkness, it always comes back." Shade glared at him. "You may have destroyed my Galaxy-Eyes Black Cosmic Dragon, but doing so activated its special ability. Now a Galaxy-Eyes monster in my Graveyard returns to the field! Return to me, Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon!" The dark variant of Photon Dragon rises again, with a battle ready roar. (8/3000/2500)

"Interesting, but it won't help you. Digital Reaper, attack his Darkspace Falcon! Dataspace Devastation!" Vizor commanded his monster to attack. The mechanical reaper used its scythe to slice the falcon down the middle. The explosion brought Shade to his knees. (Shade: LP 4000→1100)

"All right! Shade's almost down!" Allie cheered.

"Don't celebrate just yet. He still has his Darkspace Dragon on the field." Kite spoke up. "And who knows what Shade will do next."

"Relax, Kite. Once Vizor's next turn comes, he'll delete that dragon for good." Shark said.

"Yeah, if he has a next turn." Kaiba slightly scowled.

"Are you through? I have things to do and timelines to destroy." Shade taunts.

"You won't be destroying anything once I'm done with you." Vizor glared through his helmet as he placed a face-down. "Your turn."

(Turn 6: Shade: LP 1100)

"I beg to differ. I draw!" Shade draws his card and with one look at the card, he grins with such malice. "Face it, Vizor. This card will spell your ultimate doom! I activate the spell Darkspace Fusion!" The card he plays depicts of a dark portal with two monsters merging into one.

"A fusion card?!" Declan gasped.

"That's right! Now I can use monsters on my field, hand or Pendulum Zones to Fusion Summon! I Fuse Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon, Darkspace Galaxy Squad and Darkspace Galaxy Spino!" Shade declared as the two monsters in the pillars of blue light flew out of them, joining the dark dragon. "When the Dragon of shadows joins together with the soldier of the dark and the carnivore of chaos, I can create an interstellar scourge the likes of which you've never seen!" He chants as the three monsters swirl together into the portal, creating a blinding light. "I Fusion Summon! Arise, Neo Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon!" The combination of the three monsters culminated in creating a three-headed version of Galaxy-Eyes, with dark purple and red armor. Its wings were much larger than normal and it glowed white. (10/4500/3000)

Vizor sneered, but quickly switched to a grin. "Like that thing is supposed to scare me. Digital Reaper's special ability will destroy your monster in an instant. Once my next turn comes, your dragon will fall faster than a data signal."

"I'm afraid there isn't going to be a next turn." Shade said.

"Say what?!" His opponent gasped.

"When I use Galaxy-Eyes to Fusion Summon Neo Galaxy-Eyes, the effects of all other cards that are face-up are negated! Darkspace Howling!" Neo Galaxy-Eyes let loose a sonic roar that paralyzed Digital Reaper, nullifying its abilities.

"Clever… You may have negated my reaper's power, but our monsters' strengths are equal." Vizor stated. " _And even if he destroys it, my reaper's ability can bring back any one of my T.G. monsters from my graveyard. This duel is as good as done."_

"You may think you have the upper hand, but I'm afraid this is where it ends. I activate the Spell Card Galaxy Siphon! It lets me choose a Galaxy-Eyes monster on my field or in my Graveyard and your monster loses Attack Points equal to its Attack value. And all it costs me is 1000 Life Points." The next card Shade plays is a Spell that depicts of Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon stealing energy from several monsters like Marauding Captain, Buster Blader, Master of Oz and Great Moth.

"Oh no!" He watched in horror as the ethereal spirit of Galaxy-Eyes Black Cosmic Dragon entered into Digital Reaper's body, draining its power. (Shade: LP 1100→100; T.G. Digital Reaper: 12/4500→1000/0)

"Looks like my project will proceed after all. Neo Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon, attack his T.G. Digital Reaper and finish him! Go, Ultimate Darkspace Stream of Destruction!" Shade commands his monster to attack the weakened mechanical reaper. Vizor acts quickly and grabs an Action Card from a lamp post.

"Guess again!" Vizor shouts as he prepares to activate the Action Spell he acquired, but Shade came prepared.

"You won't be getting out of this one! I activate the Action Spell Cosmic Arrow! Since you got a new card, I get to look at it and destroy it if it is a Spell Card." Shade activated the Action Spell that lied behind him on a mailbox. Vizor scowled as he revealed the card: The Action Spell Evasion. The card immediately evaporated as the dragon's three heads charged a beam of purple energy in its mouths. The beam was fired and struck the mechanical reaper in the center. The monster explodes, sending Vizor crashing into the wall behind him.

"Vizor!" Yusei yelled. Vizor slowly fell to the ground, groaning. (Vizor: LP 2250→0)

"I can't believe it! He lost!" Joey stated. Yusei quickly approached him.

"Vizor! Vizor!" Yusei yelled for his former friend.

"Yusei…" Vizor wheezed. "I'm sorry… I did what I could to stop him… but I lost…"

"There's no need to apologize." Shade chuckled as he approached the gathered crowd, his crystalline armor clinking with each step. "In fact, what you should worry about is how you will save your splintered timelines in five days." Vizor glared at the dark emperor through his helmet. "You did all that you could to defeat me. You summoned your most powerful monsters, blocked off my counter strategies, even used the surrounding environment to your advantage, and yet all those great efforts in that duel were for nothing."

Vizor attempted to get up, but doubled over and clutched his sore torso before he could take a step. Jack and Declan helped him to his feet, watching as his victorious opponent walked to the center of the plaza. "And I take it you brought me back to life just to gloat in my face?" Vizor sneered, his voice wheezing over his injury.

"I have no such intentions, Vizor." Shade corrected. "In fact, I will reveal to you the consequences of your unceremonious defeat in this Duel." He raised his right arm and a dark energy radiated. "For you see, since you accepted the wager these five have placed before your untimely interference, my end of the bargain still stands, meaning my work shall continue. In 120 hours starting today, every era, every dimension that is affected by Duel Monsters shall be restarted, erasing every mention of it!"

The faces of every gathered person in the plaza were changed into a mix of fear, shock and anger as Shade turned to the Legendary Duelists. "You all are wondering: "How am I going to restart the universe?" Well, look to my ship and you'll see your answer." Everybody looked towards the flagship and noticed a mounted laser cannon the size of Neptune that is powering up at this moment in time. The cannon itself appears to be aimed towards the sky and is powered by five silos that is gathering energy.

"What is that thing?" Yugi gasped.

"This is the project I was working on while confined here in the Shadow Realm and the key to erasing Duel Monsters for good. Say hello to the Reverse Engineered Space-Time Alteration Revolving Titanic Cannon!" Shade showed them his R.E.S.T.A.R.T. Cannon. "Impressive, isn't it? I knew that in order to destroy Duel Monsters from history, I needed a power source powerful enough to change the flow of time. The only thing with that much power is the Numeron Code. And don't even think of attempting to disarm it. The R.E.S.T.A.R.T. Cannon is designed with a fail-safe system that will activate once it reaches full capacity. Once I input the command codes and give out the order, everything and everyone you hold dear will fade from existence and become another prisoner in the Shadow Realm. But not to worry, I've decided to give you all a chance."

"What are you saying?" Jaden asked.

"What I recommend is an all-or-nothing, no holds barred Battle Royal, where over the course of five days you and every duelist within all the eras shall Duel against my ultimate Shadow Army!" Shade explains. "But don't think this will be a friendly competition. This will be an all-out war!"

"A war?!" Yami gasps.

"Correct. But don't think you can use this to get to my cannon and shut it down before the five days are over. As I said, the cannon has a fail-safe system that automatically activates once it is fully charged." Shade reminds them. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll take my leave of this wretched plaza, but not before I leave a little parting gift for all of you." With a wave of his hand, a dark rift opens up above everyone, sucking them all in, Duelist and non-Duelist alike.

"What's happening now?!" Zuzu yelled over the sound of the growing suction as the rift slowly grew stronger.

"I'll bet Shade did this! He's using the power from his cannon to open a dimensional time warp!" Yusei guessed, standing his ground. "And it looks like it's getting stronger with each second!"

It was until Yuya grabbed onto the lamp post that Yugo's spirit appeared beside the Dueltainer. " _He's right! At this rate, we'll all be sucked in!_ "

And to prove the Synchro Dimension Duelist's point, the rift's suction got stronger, eventually sucking in Luna and Leo, causing the teenage twins to scream as they disappeared within the rift.

"Luna! Leo!" Akiza screamed as she reached for them, not knowing that she had let go of the guard rail she and Yuya were clasping to keep from getting sucked in. The rift soon sucked her in, much to the shock of Yusei.

"AKIZA!" Yusei yelled as he reached for Akiza, only to be stopped by Shark and Chazz.

"Don't, Yusei!" Shark yelled. "You'll be pulled in too!"

"But Akiza…" Yusei argued before Crow butted in.

"We've got time to save her and the twins! Right now, we need to worry about ourselves!" Crow shouted some sense into the ex-Signer.

"Crow's right! At the rate that rift is growing, we'll all be sucked in!" Tristan agreed.

Things got plenty worse once Joey, Tristan and Mokuba lost their grip. "Seto, help!" Mokuba screamed for his brother as he was pulled into the rift.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba screamed as he attempted to grab his younger brother's hand, only to miss. He watched in complete horror as his own brother was swallowed by the time warp.

Zuzu and Alexis did all they could to hold the children and keep them from getting sucked in. "Zuzu, I'm scared!" Allie squeaked with fear.

"Don't worry. We're here. We won't let Shade hurt you." Zuzu comforted them, but the force of the rift was too strong for them to hold their ground and it sucked them in, much to Yuya's shock and horror!"

"ZUZU!" Yuya yelled as he watched Zuzu and the children disappear into the warp rift.

"YUYA!" Zuzu screamed as she and the children vanished within the rift. Watching the carnage from the sidelines, Shade watched with complete satisfaction in his eyes as the rift eventually sucked all of the others in, the rift closing afterwards. Shade simply smirks as he vanishes into an isolated room with ice for walls and dark crystals protruding from them, where he sees five figures within cryogenic hibernation capsules.

"It looks like, though I became victorious, I will need some incentive to commence the Ultimate Shadow Game." Shade states as he types some commands on the central terminal. Once the final command was input, the capsules began to open. "Awaken, my Shadow Squad. It is time for the Ultimate Shadow Game to begin!" Once the capsules are fully open, the eyes of the silhouettes open, each of them glimmering with a sinister light.

* * *

 **(I finish my update when I hear a knock on the front door. I answer it but see no one)**

 **?: Excuse us.**

 **(I look down and notice three young girls)**

 **Me: Can I help you?**

 **Eldest girl: You must be Archer. Our dad heard much about you.**

 **Me: Really?**

 **Eldest girl: Yeah. He told us about you and brought us here to meet you. I'm Margo. These are my sisters Edith and Agnes.**

 **Me: I know this seems a tad inconvenient, but Margo, Edith, Agnes, welcome to my studio. Say, where is your dad anyway?**

 **Agnes: He left somewhere important with our mom. They'll be back soon.**

 **Me: Alright then. Why don't I show you girls around?**

 **Edith: Cool.**

 **Me: Okay, let's get started. You readers may leave a review. Archer out!**


	10. Joining the Time Brigade

**(We make it inside the volcano lair)**

 **Rocky: Ryder, I'm scared.**

 **Ryder: Be strong, pups. Violet has to be somewhere in this volcano.**

 **(Chase hears a crackling noise nearby as we pass a closed room)**

 **Sofia: What is it, Chase?**

 **Chase: In here.**

 **(We enter the room and notice Violet bound in magnetic shackles, weary)**

 **Dash: Violet!**

 **(He runs over to her until Ultron appears from the air)**

 **Ultron: I had a feeling you'd find me here. It's time for you to pay for your actions at the train yard!**

 **Me: Not today, Ultron!**

 **(We engage Ultron in combat)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 9: Joining the Time Brigade

Yusei and Yuya are within a type of hidden futuristic infirmary asleep. Soon they hear the doors open and someone starts to speak. "I hope these Duelists can help me in my time of need." Once said, both Yuya and Yusei begin to stir awake. They notice a mage in silver robes with white and gold seams and a gold staff with a green orb on the head.

"Ah, Yusei Fudo, Yuya Sakaki, you have awakened." The mage spoke.

"Huh? Who are you and what happened to our friends?" Yusei interrogated.

"And how do you know our names?" Yuya adds.

"Your friends are just fine." The mage noted. "Come with me. I will explain on the way." He then left the infirmary. Yusei and Yuya felt uneasy trusting this mage, but they followed him.

"When I sensed your arrival in the Shadow Realm, I knew the Dark Emperor had surfaced to rid history of Duel Monsters." The mage began explaining. "So in order to thwart his plans, I needed the power of the Legendary Duelists."

"So you seek our help?" Yusei asked.

"Yes." The mage nods. "However, when I sensed that he was about to scatter you across the Shadow Realm, I couldn't let it happen, so I used my Scepter of Time to redirect you here, out of his reach. My name is Koga, the Sage of Time. Welcome to the headquarters of the Time Brigade."

"Is it just you here?" Yuya asked.

"I'm afraid so. Most of my allies that have confronted the Dark Emperor have been… eliminated." Koga lowered his head in grief.

"Oh… that's awful." Yuya muttered.

"But rest assured, Duelists, he will be brought to justice." Koga raised his head stoically. "Now then, your friends are in the great hall. I shall send you once everyone is acquainted." The two Duelists entered the great hall with the Sage and noticed everyone from across the Duel Monsters eras, friends and foes alike, have been gathered. Yusei and Yuya notice three of their friends, Luna, Leo and Sylvio conversing among one another.

"Luna! Leo! Sylvio!" Yuya called out to the twins. They notice their Signer and Dueltainer friends.

"Yusei! Yuya!" Leo shouts over to the two Legends. "Where were you? Sylvio was just finishing his tale on how he saved an entire dimension by himself!" Hearing that made Yuya shoot a cold glare at Sylvio.

"Did you tell them that, Sylvio?" Yuya sneered.

"Well, what was I supposed to tell them?" Sylvio shrugged with a sheepish grin.

"Some days, I just wonder why Declan recruited you. You get what I'm saying, right, Yugo?" His Synchro Dimension counterpart appears before him.

" _When will he ever learn?"_ Yugo states.

" _It's like he's another you, only more arrogant._ " Yuri agrees.

"For once, I agree with you, Yuri." Yuya nods. He then noticed Zuzu chatting with Akiza, Tori and Yusho.

"Zuzu! Dad!" Yuya shouts to them to gain their attention. Zuzu turns over and she smiles with delight and relief.

"Yuya!" Zuzu runs over to him and embraces the Dueltainer with a loving hug. "I was so worried!"

"As am I, Zuzu." Yuya stated. "By the way, how did it feel having three spirits inhabit you?"

"It was sorta creepy at first, but if you were able to handle it, so can I." Zuzu replied.

"Speaking of things to handle, I think it's about time you got to know the Shadow Squad." Koga spoke up.

"The Shadow Squad?" Sylvio asked.

"All will be explained soon." Koga states as he levitates to a crystal podium. "Alright, may I have your attention, please?" Once he started speaking, the chatter died down. "Okay, it just so happens that Shade has awakened his most powerful and devastating team of Duelists, the Shadow Squad. Allow me to introduce you to them." A giant holographic screen appears behind Koga and displays images of the six members of the Shadow Squad. The first image is of a white-haired swordsman with dark red eyes garbed in rustic crimson armor. "This is the Master of Fire, Aidan. He's the lost spirit of a sword-wielding shogun who has fought many battles over the years. He may be a spirit now, but you should never underestimate the likes of him. His Deck's ultimate monster is Doomkaiser Dragon."

The next image is a brown haired gentleman in a black captain's uniform. The most distinguishing detail of him is the bolt shaped scar between his green eyes. "Master of Water, Captain Fritz. He's a demented seafarer who is obsessed with catching his prey, regardless of who or what he catches. His cold heart matches the power of his Deck, spearheaded by Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier."

The next was a muscular green-haired man with medals on his Air Force uniform. "Master of Wind, Commander Kain. A brilliant strategist who always thinks two steps ahead of his adversary. There is no strategy in Duel Monsters he hasn't countered. His most powerful monster is Mist Valley Apex Avian."

The next image is a young man with plenty of excavation tools on his pack. "Master of Earth, Minato. He may look inexperienced at first glance, but trust me when I say this: there's no underestimating his defenses. His Deck's strongest monster is Rockstone Dragon."

The next one is of a beautiful young woman with flowing auburn hair clad in a glowing outfit, complete with butterfly wings. "Master of Light, Miki. As the lone female member of the Shadow Squad, she's capable of driving back a whole army of Time Brigadiers with one look in her eyes. Don't let her beauty keep you from completing your duties. Her trump card is Rainbow Beaconfly."

The final image is one the Legendary Duelists had seen since their arrival. "Finally, Master of Dark and Shadow Realm Emperor, Shade. He may say very little, but as their leader, he is dangerously smart and equally devious. Shade is nothing but pure evil. Many of you have witnessed his power up close as well as his ultimate monster: Galaxy-Eyes Darkspace Dragon."

The screen disappears once the Squad introductions are done. "These six Duelists form the elite Shadow Squad that guard and control Shade's R.E.S.T.A.R.T. Cannon."

"But how can we shut it down?" Gong asked.

"The cannon itself generates power from five energy towers that surround it. Shut them down and the entire cannon will power down."

"Nice! All we have to do is get to those towers and take them down!" Hassleberry cheered.

"Easier said than done, Tyranno Hassleberry." Koga spoke up. "The towers generate a lot of dark energy and there will be a member of the Shadow Squad guarding each of the five towers. Even if you were able to defeat their protectors, shutting them down is next to impossible."

"Nothing we can't handle, Koga." Jaden states his rebuttal. "I'm sure we'll find a way to take those towers down."

Koga simply grinned. "I know you will, Jaden Yuki. Soon, I will send all of you in eight groups. It is okay if you do not duel, for there will be those that do who will be joining you. And to ensure that you will not falter, I will personally supercharge your decks with new cards." He waves his scepter as each of the Duelists' decks glowed brightly before the glow dims down. "These new cards will help you make your way through Shade's vicious army. I'm counting on you to stop Shade and bring an end to his reign of terror." Just before he has the chance to send them out, the screen fizzes and shows Shade on his dimly lit throne.

"Shade!" Koga scowled.

"So, you must be the new Time Brigade, I see?" Shade assumed. "I knew my powers can't reach you all the way to where you are now, so I figured I'd give you a call."

"Get to the point, Shade! What do you want?" Koga glared.

"You all know that in five days, my cannon will generate enough energy to erase your worlds forever." Shade reminded them. "But seeing as how you were able to entertain me with that Duel, I'm feeling generous today."

"What do you mean?" Jaden questioned.

"I've decided to give you all one day to prepare yourselves for the coming battles ahead." Shade suggested. "Of course, even if I gave you an entire year to prepare, it still won't be enough to defeat me."

"We shall see about that, Emperor. We shall see." Koga challenged as he disconnected the signal.

"So we now have 24 hours to prepare ourselves for the challenge ahead." Declan assumed.

"Just enough time for you to test out your new cards." Koga realized. "And I know just where you will do so. Come with me." He leads the plethora of Duelists out of the main hall for them to put their skills to the test.

* * *

 **(We're badly beaten and bruised, but we managed to free Violet and defeat Ultron)**

 **Dash: It's over, Ultron! You lost!**

 **Ultron: You may have bested me this time, but I will return! (Flies away)**

 **Violet: Thanks for coming here to save me.**

 **Ryder: No problem. Guess we better head back to Adventure Bay. Remember, whenever you need us, just yelp for help!**

 **Me: We will, Ryder. And we'll come and visit you sometime.**

 **Ryder: See you soon. (He leaves with the pups)**

 **Me: Guess we better head back to base also. You readers may leave a review. Archer out!**


	11. Training Day

**(I'm in the party hall conversing with Cassie and Kung Jin when I spot Ryder and the PAW Patrol pups in their costumes)**

 **Me: Can you two excuse me for a second? Ryder! Pups!**

 **Zuma: Archer!**

 **Me: What are you guys doing here?**

 **Ryder: We just thought it'd be nice to come by and visit.**

 **Me: Well, you came just at the right time. The costume contest is about to start.**

 **(The pups cheer and bark happily)**

 **Me: So until then, why don't you enjoy yourselves? I'll let you know when the costume contest starts.**

 **(Ryder and the pups join the fun and introduce themselves to the others)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 10: Training Day

Sage of Time Koga leads his new Time Brigade to a massive Duel Arena, complete with lights, bleachers and a skybox for play-by-play commentators. The Duelists couldn't believe their eyes.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Koga asked. "Before the war, my team and I often come here to hone our skills."

"Eh, my arena's better." Kaiba smirks.

"Say what you like about it, Seto Kaiba, this arena has trained many Time Brigade members over the years." Koga noted. "Now then, to ensure that all of you know your new cards well, we will begin with a set of one-on-one and Tag Duels."

Kaiba steps forward and glares at Koga. "You've done nothing but babble on about this Time Brigade ordeal! Do you really think you'd set this up just to see if you can trust us with this?!"

"I can assure you, Seto Kaiba, my words are nothing but truth." Koga replies. "And to answer your question, this is a test of skill, teamwork and trust. I expect you to use what you know to help your teammates as well as yourself. Now let the training Duels begin!"

* * *

A plethora of one-on-one and Tag Duels went underway as Koga watches the action from the skybox. There were some that caught his attention such as the Tag Duel between the team of Bonz and Bandit Keith and the team of Yuya and Sylvio. There were also some Duels like Shay vs Zuzu, Zigfried vs Mai, Jaden vs Quinton, and Leon vs Gong.

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, take out Keith's Machine King! Spiral Flame Strike!" Yuya call his attack on Bandit Keith's Machine King as the heterochromatic Dragon fired a blazing spiral from its great maw. It struck Machine King in the center, blasting it to pieces, the shockwave sending Bonz and Keith crashing to the wall, decreasing their LP to zero.

"Bloom Diva, sing Rise Falcon a swan song! Wrecking Refrain!" Zuzu's monster sang a note which created a green twister aimed right at Rise Falcon until a face-down card flipped face-up.

"Go, Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" The purple-robed mage pointed his staff at Kite's Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.

The Duels went on as Koga looked at his own Deck in concern, but for whom he's concerned about, who knows. He puts his Deck away and leaves the skybox.

* * *

The day has passed and all of the Duelists, friend and foe alike, look primed and ready to take on Shade and his army.

"Okay, you all trained hard these past two days and you likely know a lot about your new cards." Koga stated.

"Indeed we have, Koga." Atem nods in agreement.

"Yes, and with your new cards, you will have the opportunity to defeat Shade and his evil army." Koga said. "Now, should you encounter any of Shade's soldiers, don't hesitate to Duel them. And be sure to bring one back here. I've got a feeling one of them has some secrets about Shade's cannon. Now go out there and save your worlds!"

"Understood, Koga. We'll do what we can to stop Shade's plan." Shay declared.

"Excellent. And before you go, I want to give you all your new Duel Disks." Koga waved his staff once more as all of the Duel Disks changed appearance. The Duel Disks' blades are now larger and sleeker, complete with two new Pendulum Zone panels on either side of the blades of the Duel Disks.

"What happened to our Duel Disks?!" Joey gasped.

"Consider it an upgrade for all of you." Koga states. "And with that, I say good luck!" Koga waves his staff one last time as the Duelists vanish completely, sent out into the Dimensions.

* * *

In the depths of Shade's flagship, the Dark Emperor is conversing with his allies, the Shadow Squad. They appear to be reviewing their plan.

"So, the Sage of Time has gathered Duelists from across time to battle me, eh?" Shade spoke lowly.

"What shall we do about them, my liege?" Commander Kain asked.

"Good question, Kain. If they find their way to the towers, my R.E.S.T.A.R.T. Cannon is done for." Shade said with a hint of worry in his voice. "Well, they won't succeed. Not while I have something to say about it."

"Master Shade!" A Shadow General entered the throne room. "The soldiers are ready for deployment!"

"Perfect! Send out a small squadron to intercept them! They must not reach my cannon!" Shade commanded.

"Yes sir!" The Shadow General saluted before leaving.

"Do you think those Time Brigade losers have a chance of beating us?" Minato asked brashly. "I could take them all down myself if I can."

"Don't get overconfident, Minato." Miki smirked. "Those Duelists are much stronger than you think."

"Miki's right. The only one we should worry about right now is the Pharaoh. He holds the three Egyptian Gods." Aidan agreed.

"And let's not forget the Legendary Knights of Atlantis." Captain Fritz spoke up.

"Yes, and I have seen what Hermos, Critias and Timaeus are capable of when they battled the Orichalcos army 10,000 years ago." Kain noted his experience in the Battle for Atlantis. "Of course, with their freedom, they were never heard from again."

"But there will be a time when they are called to arms once again." Shade states. "Speaking of calling to arms, Aidan, I want you to head to the battlefield at once."

"Understood, sire!" Aidan nods as he disappears through an Overlay Network.

"Win or lose, we'll learn something about our enemy." Shade said as he watched the dispatched members of the Time Brigade on his monitors.

* * *

 **(Everyone watches as I announce the winner of the costume contest)**

 **Me: Alright, time to declare the winner of the costume contest.**

 **Takeda: (Dressed as Floyd Mayweather) I've got a good feeling who won.**

 **Me: Well, this is a surprise. We've got six winners. This year's costume contest goes to… Super Chase, Pumpkin Marshall, Pirate Zuma, Viking Rocky, Rock star Rubble and Princess Skye!**

 **(The pups bark in delight as they join me on the stage. Everyone gives a round of applause for the pups as I present them their medals)**

 **Me: Pups, your costumes showed much appreciation and creativity. Congratulations!**

 **(We give them another round of applause for the pups)**

 **Me: Now that the contest is over, let's get back to the party! You readers may leave a review. Archer out!**


	12. Skirmish in the Satellite, Pt 1

**(We arrive at the base of the Rock of Gibraltar)**

 **Sora: So this is the Rock of Gibraltar.**

 **Drax: Wow, if this isn't proof that this so-called Rock of Gibraltar feels like a pebble compared to the size of Knowhere, I don't know what is.**

 **Groot: I am Groot.**

 **Ryder: What is it?**

 **Rocket: I think Groot sees the Fang of Ferocity on the rock face.**

 **(We look towards the limestone rock face and see a sabretooth tiger fang adorned with a gold chain and a single ruby)**

 **Me: That's it! That's the Fang of Ferocity!**

 **Star-Lord: I'll go and get it.**

 **(Star-Lord activates his hover pack and ascends towards the rock face)**

 **Me: Ryder, do you think you can track Chase and Skye's whereabouts?**

 **Ryder: We may not be able to call them due to whatever is jamming their signal, but their pup tags are equipped with homing devices. I might be able to track their signal using my Pup-Pad.**

 **Gamora: How long will it be before you find them?**

 **Ryder: It's hard to say, but I'll let you know once it locks onto them.**

 **(Ryder boards the Quadrant with the pups while the rest of us wait for Star-Lord to get the fang)**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legends Unite

Chapter 11: Skirmish in the Satellite, Part 1

The Satellite, once a pile of lingering garbage and urban decay, now connects to New Domino City via the Daedalus Bridge, which tells the tale of how one man began to build a bridge, attempting to unite the Satellite with New Domino City. The original Daedalus Bridge was incomplete due to Sector Security's interference. The original bridge remains where it stands today. Soon at the base of the bridge, a warp gate opens up, revealing Trudge, Chazz, Mai and Joey.

"Well, here we are. Welcome to the Satellite." Trudge spoke. His team looked at the cleanliness of the buildings and streets.

"Dis is da Satellite?!" Joey asked, bewildered at the city's present condition. "I was expecting an isolated part of da city to be full of trash and stuff."

"That's how it used to be back then. But after the battle with the Dark Signers, things changed for the better, for here and for New Domino City." Trudge explained.

"Speaking of things that changed, I wonder how our decks will turn out once we take on Shade's goons." Mai wondered, looking at her newly modified Duel Disk.

"We'll see soon enough, Mai." Trudge said. "Now, this isn't much of a big city, but we should split up, just to be safe. Mai and Joey will look in the east while Chazz and I search the west."

"Got it." Joey nods as he heads east with Mai while Chazz and Trudge head west.

Meanwhile, in an icy cavern where a stone castle stands with the R.E.S.T.A.R.T. Cannon stationed at the top, Shade overlooks the progress of each team with several soldiers standing before him. He smirks when he notices Team 1 splitting up.

"Follow them. We must make sure they will not succeed." Shade commands his soldiers. They respond with a war cry and leave. "This shall be one Shadow Game they will never win." He looks on as the five-day timer begins.

* * *

 **(Satellite – West End)**

Chazz and Trudge look around the west end of Satellite for the whereabouts of a gate and ask anyone if they have seen something like it. So far, there's no luck.

"Trudge, we've looked all over the west end and there's no sign of Shade's troops!" Chazz whined.

"Calm down, Chazz. Your family may be rich, but that doesn't mean everything comes easy." Trudge argued. "Especially when it comes to Duels."

Almost as if on cue, screams of agony are heard up ahead. They notice people running away from whatever frightened them. Trudge manages to speak up. "Hey, wait! What's going on?!"

A man in his 20s stops to tell them. "Monsters are attacking! They've got some weird armor on!" He's too scared to tell anymore and continues to run.

"Armored monsters?" Chazz asked.

"Could be Shade's minions." Trudge deduced.

"Well, let's go and find out." The Chazz smirked as the two of them followed the screaming to the Satellite Square, where they find two Shadow Grunts in red armor.

"I knew it! Shade's soldiers! They must've followed us!" Trudge deduced.

"Koga did say to Duel them once you see them." Chazz reminisced.

"Well, I say if they want a Duel, let's give them one." Trudge suggests. Chazz whistles, gaining the Grunts' attention.

"Hey! You guys looking to tussle?" Chazz challenged.

"So you are the ones that foolish Sage of Time recruited." One of the Grunts noted.

"Emperor Shade is going to enjoy seeing you squirm once we defeat you." The other Grunt grinned with malice as they turned on their Duel Disks, which are black in color and stone-like in shape, which project a dark red blade.

"Hope you're ready, Grunts, because Trudge and I are about to Chazz you up!" Chazz smirked as he and Trudge activated their newly modified Duel Disks. A card then appears on a holographic screen as a female AI is heard.

" _Generating Action Field: Crossover..."_ Soon the field is enveloped in a blue light as light blue transparent platforms appear around them and the Action Cards are scattered.

"You know how a Tag Duel plays out, right?" Shadow Grunt A asks.

"Yeah, thanks for asking." Chazz replies sarcastically. "We know each team can share their Life Points, fields and even their Graveyards."

"That's right, and with our combined might, we shall defeat you!" Shadow Grunt B smirks.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen!" Trudge counters.

* * *

 **(Satellite – East End)**

Joey and Mai look around for anything out of the ordinary, but found nothing.

"Argh! This is getting us nowhere!" Joey groaned.

"Calm down, Joey. I'm sure we'll find Shade's goons somewhere." Mai reassured.

"That's the problem! We've looked all over the east end of Satellite and we haven't found one soldier!" Joey argued. "Maybe we're not cut out for this sort of thing, Mai."

"Joey, get your head in the game!" Mai glared. "Koga chose us not because of our talent, but because he recognized our determination and confidence, despite whatever roadblocks we encountered in our lives!"

"Does he actually think we're confident that we can do this?" Joey asked her.

"Joey, he _knows_ that we can do this." Mai stated.

"Desperation must pass down from master to student, especially when it comes to recruiting for the Time Brigade." They hear a new voice. Both of the Legends look ahead and noticed a Shadow Grunt approaching.

"Shadow Grunts!?" Joey gasps.

"Surprised, aren't you?" The Shadow Grunt spoke.

"I never knew there'd be a lot of you." Mai noted.

"What do you expect? We soldiers are born from the darkness of the Shadow Realm." The Shadow Grunt replies. "If one of us falls, two more rise up."

"In that case, we'll just take you down piece by piece!" Joey declared.

"Easier said than done, but how about we find out for ourselves?" The Grunt challenged as another Shadow Grunt joined him.

"Now you're talking my language!" Joey accepts as Mai joins the fun, activating her Duel Disk alongside Joey.

" _Generating Action Field: Crossover..._ " A female AI confirms as the field transforms around them, adding transparent platforms and scattering glowing cards.

"I knew you would accept our challenge." The Grunt says as the two soldiers activate their Duel Disks. "Now, as this is a Tag Duel, our fields, Graveyards and Life Points are shared by your partner."

"The more, the merrier." Mai grins.

"Ooh, pretty and confident, but that won't matter because once we're done with you two, all your confidence will come crumbling down like a house of cards." The Shadow Grunt smirks.

"Enough talk! Let's get this show started!" Joey shouts. The screen splits into eight as the members of Team 1 are among the first to engage against the Shadow Squad's limitless army. All it took were two simple words for sparks to fly.

"Let's Duel!"

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **(After Star-Lord extracts the Fang of Ferocity from the rock surface, we enter the Quadrant)**

 **Rubble: How'd it go?**

 **Star-Lord: It wasn't easy, but I was able to get it out. And in one piece.**

 **Marshall: And just in time. I think Ryder may have found Chase and Skye.**

 **Gamora: Really? Where'd you find them?**

 **Zuma: You won't like this. Show them, Ryder.**

 **(Ryder shows us a photo of a jungle city in Africa)**

 **Me: Gorilla City?! The Arkham Knight's taken them to Gorilla City?!**

 **Drax: What's so special about a city of gorillas?**

 **Me: I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that the Arkham Knight is working with its leader, Gorilla Grodd.**

 **Ryder: We should head back to base and prepare ourselves for the fight ahead.**

 **Me: Grodd can wait. I just realized today's Christmas.**

 **Star-Lord: Oh, that's right! We were so busy with what's going on, we forgot about the holidays!**

 **Rocket: Relax, Quill. There's still time to make it back for the gift exchange.**

 **Groot: I am Groot.**

 **Me: Well, let's head back and regroup. You readers may leave a review. Merry Christmas!**


End file.
